Live reporting on the NBA Draft has become more of a trend in sports media, as the likes of ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and The Athletic’s Shams Charania frequently report on draft picks before fans even see them watching at home. Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports also attempted to do this as well but struggled with his accuracy of the correct picks throughout the night.
Fischer’s first mistake came when he reported that the Charlotte Hornets were moving back from No. 6 overall in a trade with the Memphis Grizzlies.
This did not end up being the case, as the Hornets ended up staying at No. 6 and selecting French forward Tidjane Salaün.
Fischer then clarified that the Hornets were actually looking to move back into the top 10, pick No. 9 specifically, in a trade with the Grizzlies. He also mentioned that the Grizzlies were “on a move” for UConn center Donovan Clingan, which would suggest that they could potentially move up for the National Champion.
Neither scenario ended up happening, as the Portland Trail Blazers stayed at No. 7 and selected Clingan, while the Grizzlies stayed at No. 9 and got their own center in Purdue standout Zach Edey.
Fischer obviously didn’t get everything wrong. He correctly reported the next six picks after his swing-and-a-miss at No. 9 overall. Then, he proceeded to incorrectly report that the Miami Heat were “expected” to select Duke guard Jared McCain.
Instead, the Heat would select Indiana center Kel’el Ware, a mistake that he was seemingly quite upset about in a follow-up post on X.
“It’s ******* Ware. I’m so sorry, y’all,” wrote Fischer in frustration of the error.
This last error is really where fans at home started to notice that Fischer hasn’t been all that accurate in comparison to the likes of Adrian Wojnarowski or Shams Charania, trolling him on social media about his less-than-stellar night.
“You’d be doing better with me as your source right now,” wrote the infamous troll social media account ‘Ballsack Sports’
“Jake Fischer I will be billing you for my therapy,” wrote Molly Morrison of Bleacher Report on X.
“BTW, I love Jake Fischer,” wrote Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune. “Woj/Shams are like going to your boss for info at your office: they’ll give you the official news when it happens, plus corporate spin on rumors. Jake is the watercooler. If execs around the NBA are talking about it, he’s writing about it. It’s great.”
To be fair to Fischer, being entirely accurate in this kind of event where there are so many moving parts is obviously incredibly difficult to do. Fisher was the first on a few developments last night
There is a reason that the Adrian Wojnarowski’s and Shams Charania’s of the world are so few and far between in sports media.
However, you have to wonder who Fischer’s sources are that let him down on a number of occasions Wednesday night.
About Reice Shipley
Reice Shipley is a staff writer for Comeback Media that graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Sports Media. He previously worked at Barrett Sports Media and is a fan of all things Syracuse sports.