NBA reporter Nick Friedell brutally axed by ESPN in cuts just hours after appearing live on First Ta

Publish date: 2024-05-03

NBA reporter Nick Friedell has been let go from ESPN in the company's long list of cuts — and it happened at a questionable time.

Friedell appeared on live television during Friday's edition of First Take and would be axed by the network hours later.

The 39-year-old analyst was alongside host Victoria Harlen, NBA insider Brian Windhorst and radio personality Freddie Coleman on Friday.

And the NBA analyst went viral after comparing Philadelphia 76ers star James Harden's looming trade to his dating life.

Hours after his appearance, Friedell was reportedly added to ESPN's layoffs on Friday according to Front Office Sports writer Michael McCarthy.

Friedell began his career at ESPN in 2009 while based in Chicago.

Read More on Sport

He covered the Chicago Bulls and recently covered other Midwest teams.

A Syracuse University graduate, Friedell was the founding member of ESPNChicago.com and served as a regular contributor to ESPN radio and ESPN 1000 as a talk show host.

Since 2018 he primarily focused on covering the Golden State Warriors.

Other than First Take, Friedell also contributed to a variety of ESPN platforms including NBA Today, SportsCenter, Outside The Lines, Jalen And Jacoby, and Daily Wager.

Most read in Basketball

ESPN made a huge number of cuts with up to 20 big names being axed, which included ex-basketball star Jalen Rose and NBA analyst Jeff Van Gundy.

Boxing talent Max Kellerman has also gone, to get his $5million-a-year salary off the books.

The layoffs are the beginning of a brutal three-round process from ESPN's parent company Disney.

ESPN is cutting costs in a bid to save millions of dollars over the coming months.

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7tbTEZqqupl6YvK570qmmq6xfbYF6hZVsbmimkpZ6s7HPqKmtnaJiu6qvymadq6GVmbKtuIyeqqmmXZbFprCMnKytq18%3D