Report: Candidates Shams Charania and Jeff Passan to replace Woj as ESPN | NBA Insiders News, results, highlights, statistics and rumors

As ESPN searches for a successor to Adrian Wojnarowski following his surprise retirement from the NBA, the network has reportedly targeted Shams Charania and Jeff Passan as potential candidates for the job.

According to Andrew Marchand of The Athletic, Charania and Passan are considered top candidates to replace Wojnarowski.

Wojnarowski announced Sept. 18 that he was retiring from the news industry to take a job as general manager at St. Bonaventure, where he graduated in 1991.

The Athletic reported that ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro and content president Burke Magnus were “surprised” when Wojnarowski told them of his decision.

Charania seemed like the obvious candidate to replace Wojnarowski, as they’ve basically been doing the same job in NBA coverage for years, albeit for competing networks. The two had a mentor-protégé relationship while working together at Yahoo Sports before the dynamic reportedly became more contentious over time.

Passan would be an unusual choice since he played primarily in Major League Baseball. He also co-authored, with Dan Wetzel and Josh Peter, a book about college football entitled Death of the BCS: The Definitive Case Against the Bowl Championship Series which was published in 2010.

Although ESPN has a partnership with the MLB, there has been speculation that the network could exit its current television contract with the league after next season.

Puck’s John Ourand noted that ESPN isn’t necessarily looking to get out of the baseball business, but that the company wants to “get more for its $550 million annual contract” and local rights at a time when MLB is doing so could add to its agreement trying to find a solution to the problem of its regional sports network.

According to Marchand, some of ESPN’s decision makers want to “redefine” the role of their top NBA insider. Passan has broken news and written in-depth stories as part of his MLB coverage for the network.

Charania, similar to Wojnarowski during his time at ESPN, is primarily a newsbreaker who appears on television and radio.

If Passan were to take the job, Marchand said he would be mentored by Wojnarowski and current analyst Bobby Marks while he learned to cover the NBA beat.

The NBA signed a new 11-year, $76 billion media rights deal in July, with ABC and ESPN retaining rights to major games, including the NBA Finals.