Bruce Bowen will return to ESPN. He left Bristol for a year to go west and join the Clippers’ television team. Bowen was let go by the team after a disagreement over his critiques of the Spurs’ Kawhi Leonard.
As a guest on SiriusXM’s NBA Radio, Bowen said that Leonard’s extended absence from the Spurs came with “nothing but excuses.” Leonard only played nine games all season and Bowen said the reasons Leonard gave didn’t explain anything.
First, it was, ‘Well I was misdiagnosed.’ Look here: You got $18 million this year, and you think that they’re trying to rush you? You didn’t play for the most part a full season this year. And you’re the go-to guy, you’re the franchise and you want to say that they didn’t have your best interest at heart? Are you kidding me?
Clippers management was reportedly not pleased. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that the team was ready to talk about an extension with Bowen before that incident. It is likely because Leonard has expressed his interest to play in Los Angeles and the Clippers would have the cap space to sign him.
ESPN will bring Bowen back to the very same role he left in 2017. He will appear on multiple shows including The Jump and SportsCenter as well as on pregame, postgame, and halftime broadcasts. Bowen first joined ESPN after retiring from the NBA in 2009.
