For all the teasing Charles Barkley took about a hypothetical ESPN workload, it is Kenny Smith who will be taking on a variety of new roles with the network.
“Inside the NBA” analyst Kenny Smith has agreed to a deal with ESPN that includes select NBA game analyst assignments and appearances on the network’s “First Take” morning debate show. Smith will also appear on Wednesday’s “NBA Countdown” as a guest analyst, appearing alongside Malika Andrews, Michael Malone and Kendrick Perkins.
The agreement is separate from Smith’s continuing role with TNT Sports.
While Smith is best known as an NBA studio analyst with TNT Sports, he spent years regularly calling games for other companies. He was an analyst on Fox Sports’ Sunday night ACC men’s basketball package and also made regular appearances as an analyst for Knicks games on MSG Network, leaving the latter role in 2008.
Smith has also made occasional guest appearances as a studio analyst for other companies, including joining Hannah Storm on-site for Game 6 of the 2002 NBA Eastern Conference Finals on NBC.
The announcement Wednesday comes two weeks into ESPN’s agreement to license the TNT-produced “Inside the NBA” as its primary NBA studio show. So far, the integration of “Inside” and ESPN has been limited to appearances by ESPN reporters for live hits, and there are no indications as yet that the Smith deal is a sign of things to come with his TNT colleagues Shaquille O’Neal and Charles Barkley.
Barkley, it should be noted, announced a commitment to stay with TNT “exclusively” last year — though not long after, he said he was listening to offers from NBC and Amazon.
The TNT-produced NBA studio show is off this week, but returns next Wednesday night. After that point, it is only scheduled to appear on ESPN/ABC once in the next ten weeks — Christmas Day — before beginning a regular schedule starting January 24.