The trio of Mike Breen, Doris Burke and Richard Jefferson might be a one-and-done experiment.
Once the upcoming NBA Finals between the Indiana Pacers and the Oklahoma City Thunder come to an end, ESPN will consider making changes to its top basketball broadcast team, a new report form The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand revealed.
"Burke’s spot is not guaranteed for next season," Marchand wrote. "ESPN will evaluate its entire roster,“ and one discussion will likely center ”around if they feel Burke is better on a two-person team as opposed to the three-person team."
ESPN plans to re-sign Jefferson, but Marchand indicated Amazon has interest in signing him. As for Breen, he is under a long-term contract.
The Worldwide Leader in Sports laid off Jeff Van Gundy and Mark Jackson in 2023, and has struggled finding the same kind of chemistry the duo shared. The network tried Breen, Burke and Doc Rivers together, but Rivers left halfway through his first broadcast season to return to coaching.
J.J. Redick was then brought in to replace Rivers before Jefferson filled the spot when Redick went on to coach the Los Angeles Lakers.
Burke has been in a full-time analyst role with ESPN for the past eight years. The longtime reporter has called NBA Finals games for ESPN Radio in the past and has done sideline reporting for the network. But she, along with the entire broadcast, has drawn mixed reviews.