The bulk of the basketball community learned that Kevin Durant had been traded from the Phoenix Suns to the Houston Rockets through an ESPN social media message from Shams Charania.
Of course, that means the insider discovered first. That is how his job functions. He’s forged the contacts that provide him with information.
On occasion, the knowledge arrives at an inappropriate moment.
In this instance, he attended his cousin’s wedding.
In a recent profile feature for Esquire, author Josh Rosenberg set the setting:
Tonight, he is attending his cousin’s wedding in Toronto, where the drinks are flowing, the music is playing, and he is attempting not to check his phone. A single text message cuts through his defenses: The Phoenix Suns are nearing an agreement to trade Kevin Durant to the Houston Rockets.
Charania stopped dancing, began researching the data, and then boarded a flight to Oklahoma City, where the NBA Finals were underway and he needed to be on television, according to Rosenberg.
That, in many ways, sums up Charania’s life, at least as seen from the outside world.
He must be connected to his phone, otherwise he will miss the news.
His genesis tale is now well-known: he worked his way up by attending NBA games, cold-emailing agents, and networking with people just by being more visible than anyone else.
Now, no one in the NBA can obtain the information. Charania does.
Some people question the value of insiders, but there is no doubt that Charania is a basketball superstar.
It just means that you may have to interrupt dancing at a joyful wedding to take a phone call about one of the greatest players of all time being traded.
