ESPN could hire 5-time NBA All-Star to replace JJ Redick?

ESPN may just end up replacing JJ Redick with a more decorated former NBA player.

In a report this week, Ryan Glasspiegel of the New York Post named retired ex-NBA forward Chris Webber as a “solid darkhorse candidate” to succeed Redick at ESPN now that Redick has become the new head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers. Glasspiegel notes that Webber is currently a free agent after parting ways with TNT before the 2021 NBA playoffs.

Current ESPN analyst (and ex-NBA guard) Tim Legler is also mentioned by Glasspiegel as a potential Redick replacement option in the piece. You can read it in full here.

Webber, 51, is a particularly interesting name though. The former No. 1 overall pick in the 1993 NBA Draft, Webber played 15 years in the league, making five All-Star appearances and five All-NBA teams. He also went on to have his No. 4 jersey retired by the Sacramento Kings and was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2021.

As an analyst, Webber has over a decade of experience, working for TNT from 2008-21 and doing both in-studio hosting and color commentating during games for them. Though Webber’s analyst work had earned some notable detractors, it appears that ESPN may give him a look to join Mike Breen and Doris Burke on their No. 1 NBA broadcast team. That being said, a different report this week suggested that there are some other possibilities on the table for ESPN to fill Redick’s role.