Douglas Jones-US PRESSWIRE
Stan Van Gundy and Bill Simmons might have two of the best basketball minds on the planet. Van Gundy has plenty of experience as a NBA coach and Simmons certainly loves writing about the game. In a move that should benefit a lot of people, those two have been pegged to lead the NBA On ESPN show.
SbB has learned @sportsguy33 & Stan Van Gundy will host retooled ESPN NBA studio show in LA this season
— SPORTSbyBROOKS (@SPORTSbyBROOKS) September 10, 2012
I really like this move and so should basketball fans everywhere. These two are going to be great as hosts. I could listen to Van Gundy talk about hoops all day. Although Simmons might not have the world’s best TV persona, his brand of humor should make the show better.
Let’s face it. The show was pretty bad over the last couple of years. There were a lot of pieces that simply did not fit together. It was a painful to watch, especially because ESPN had control of the Finals. Not exactly something that you want to turn in to on a daily basis.
This move could fail, but I just do not see it happening. These guys are good and if they build the right cast around them, they might just be able to rival TNT. It would take years to figure out the right blend, but you have to have the right pieces first. This might just be the step that shoves it all in the right direction.
