That didn’t take long.
The Athletic already has a replacement lined up for longtime Los Angeles Lakers beat writer Jovan Buha, who announced his departure from the New York Times-owned outlet on Friday. Less than 24 hours later, Ryan Glasspiegel of Front Office Sports reported that Dan Woike, formerly of the Los Angeles Times, is joining The Athletic.
Buha spent seven years with The Athletic before posting a farewell note on X on Friday, explaining he’ll continue covering the Lakers independently through his podcast, Buha’s Block. Later that same day, Woike announced his exit from the L.A. Times, though he didn’t immediately reveal his next destination.
“I’ve been so fortunate to spend 8 years at one of the nation’s top newspapers and to learn and work with so many incredible people. I’ll be sharing what’s next soon, but I wanted to acknowledge how special the LAT has been to me,” he wrote.
Glasspiegel broke the news of Woike’s new role Saturday morning.
Buha’s exit is the second major loss for The Athletic since the start of the summer. Last week, Front Office Sports reported that Golden State Warriors reporter Anthony Slater will move to ESPN.
The Athletic wasted no time replacing Buha with a respected voice in Woike. But with Slater’s move to ESPN still unaddressed, questions remain about the outlet’s coverage plans for two of the NBA’s most followed teams.
For now, it’s just another move in the NBA offseason carousel.
About Sam Neumann
Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.