New York Knicks, ESPN Ex Mark Jackson Closing In on MSG Network?

Mark Jackson is reportedly inching closer toward a reunion with the New York Knicks, through their television network.

Mama, there goes that man ... to MSG Network.

Per Andrew Marchand of the New York Post, former New York Knicks star Mark Jackson could be moving forward with the team's television network as a part-time fill-in for tenured analyst Walt "Clyde" Frazier. It would be a return to local metropolitan television for Jackson, who previously called New Jersey Nets games for the YES Network shortly after his NBA career ended in 2004. 

Such a union would also get him back on the air alongside Mike Breen, who will return to MSG as the lead play-by-play man for Knicks games. Jackson would also return to MSG after spending his first five seasons in New York, which brought him in with the 18th overall pick of the 1987 draft. He returned to the Knicks via a trade with the Toronto Raptors in 2001 and played two more seasons in blue and orange. 

Jackson played parts of seven season with the Knicks / USA TODAY SPORTS

The 58-year-old is a media free agent after he and fellow analyst (and another beloved name in Knicks lore) Jeff Van Gundy were part of ESPN's expansive layoffs over the summer. Their respective departures ended one of the most renowned broadcasting groups in modern professional sports: Breen, Jackson, and Van Gundy served as the voices of the NBA's biggest games of over a decade, having narrated every edition of the NBA Finals for ABC/ESPN since 2007 (exempting 2012-13 when Jackson was the head coach of the Golden State Warriors). 

Bob Raissman of the New York Daily News previously reported that MSG was trying to land both Jackson and Van Gundy, but Marchand said that the latter is "very unlikely" to join in. Any new media deal for Jackson and Van Gundy would likely require the approval of ESPN, who released the pair with years and money still left on their contracts.

Breen and Frazier have been MSG's primary Knicks voices since the 2004-05 season. Frazier, 78, told All Knicks earlier this summer that he plans to remain in his analyst role "as long as (he) can" but hinted that he would cut back on road games. In recent seasons, former NBA All-Star Wally Szczerbiak has filled in for Frazier on lengthy trips.

MSG's 2023-24 slate will open with the Knicks' preseason debut next Monday night at home against the Boston Celtics (7:30 p.m. ET, MSG).