From everything I hear, Nick Wright is a very solid human being.
With that being said, similar to many other hot takers, he has it wrong often. Remember when he tried to downplay Nikola Jokic, only for Jokic to win a championship and be universally recognized as the best basketball player on the planet?
Skip may look at Wright as a younger version of himself.
These leaks from inside FS1, courtesy of Front Office Sports, seem real fishy.
Skip Bayless’ strategy to copy rival Stephen A. Smith’s “debate by committee approach” with revolving guests — as well as the underwhelming talent — was met with a resounding thud inside Fox Sports, sources told Front Office Sports.
Bayless’ “Undisputed” has been on extended hiatus for nearly two months as FS1 executives have auditioned candidates to replace departed co-host Shannon Sharpe.
In that time, Bayless and FS1 have managed to line up Rachel Nichols, rapper Lil Wayne, Amazon Prime Video’s Richard Sherman and possibly ex-NFL star Keyshawn Johnson as weekly “Embrace Debate” foils for Bayless.
The pioneering Bayless has made Sharpe and Smith millions over the years. Luring Irvin, for example, away from Smith and “First Take” would be a real coup. In person, Bayless is a courtly gentleman, a polar opposite of his TV personality.
But FS1 personalities like Nick Wright, Joy Taylor, Emmanuel Acho and Chris Broussard are all experienced and talented enough to excel on “Undisputed” if they were given the opportunity.
So why does Bayless seem set on only searching outside the FS1 family?
Take Wright, for example.
The host of FS1’s “First Things First” is an expert debater. He’s held his own with everybody at FS1, including the network’s biggest star Colin Cowherd. When FS1 originally recruited Wright from radio, he was talked up internally as the next Bayless or Cowherd. Why not Wright?
“Skip doesn’t want to work with Nick Wright,” answered the source. “Skip doesn’t want to work with anybody who will make him look bad. And Nick would disembowel him on the air.”
Will you watch the new Undisputed when it debuts later this month?
