Shaquille O’Neal recently inked a reported $15 million deal, which keeps him tied to TNT. From next season, the Inside the NBA program will air on ESPN, but TNT will hold all the creative and editing control. Last season, Shaq and even Charles Barkley missed the show to help keep their jobs. So, when the Lakers legend did not turn up at Studio J today, the questions started flowing.
The host of the show did the introductions as always. As Ernie Johnson, Charles Barkley, and Kenny ‘The Jet’ Smith were all seated, but Shaquille O’Neal was missing. In his place was Detroit legend, Jalen Rose. “Sitting in for Shaquille O’Neal today and Tuesday, Jalen Rose.” The Big Aristotle missing two shows caught Smith by surprise. Johnson replied, “We don’t work Monday. Shaq’s got Tuesday off, so he’ll be here…” At first, even Chuck was caught by surprise by Tuesday’s off.
But he knows where the Lakers legend is going. “He is going to the Upfronts. You, don’t want to do that.” Barkley continued, “You don’t want to go, you don’t want to be in New York right now, some gagging going on.” The event that Shaquille O’Neal will be attending is probably on behalf of TNT. An upfront is a gathering at the start of important advertising sales periods, held by television network executives. It’s the annual ritual of programmers pitching ad buyers.
This is a developing story…
The post Why Was Shaquille O’Neal Missing From Inside the NBA? appeared first on EssentiallySports.