Dwyane Wade‘s final season as an NBA player was punctuated by a pair of great performances to end the season in front of his family, friends, and biggest fans.
While his One Last Dance was his farewell from the court, it likely wasn’t an official goodbye from the NBA, at least if the major broadcasters have their way. According to Andrew Marchand of the New York Post, both ESPN and TNT are already pursuing Wade for a role as an NBA analyst on their broadcasts, although it’s unknown at this time what kind of role would possibly interest Wade.
As Marchand notes, ESPN has the biggest studio role to offer Wade right now, as he could potentially be the face of a revamped NBA Countdown roster that currently features Paul Pierce, Jalen Rose, Chauncey Billups, and Michelle Beadle — along with rotating guests at times to fill in for the regulars like Stan Van Gundy, Brian Windhorst and others. Billups’ status in particular is very much up in the air, as he could potentially leave for the Timberwolves front office opening or get moved to game analyst on a more regular basis.
What would make Wade’s addition to the ESPN set fascinating is his less-than-friendly relationship with Paul Pierce, who made headlines earlier this year for saying he had a better career than Wade. Whether he’d want to share the set with Pierce remains to be seen, but ESPN would surely love to have that rivalry play out on a nightly basis on Countdown.
As for TNT, they won’t be looking to disrupt their Inside the NBA desk right now, but bringing Wade on as an occasional contributor now, with an eye towards a full-time role in the future, could be in play. Marchand notes Charles Barkley’s future with TNT is the great unknown, as he’s said previously he’ll stop working at age 60 — he is 56 now. That would leave a massive hole on the TNT desk, and they would undoubtedly look to fill it with another star.
Wade could fit the bill, but no one’s sure whether he wants a full-time role right now or even in the future. Whatever the case, Wade will have a home on TV whenever he wants one and will surely be paid handsomely given the desire from both TNT and ESPN to bring him into the fold.
