NBA writer and podcaster Zach Lowe was the latest layoff at Disney’s ESPN—for budget reasons, according to The Athletic. He follows previous pink slips for Sam Ponder and Robert Griffin III. 

The well-respected Lowe was paid a seven-figure salary, says one source with direct knowledge of the decision. Like Ponder and Griffin, ESPN brass made the bottom-line calculation that he wasn’t producing enough to justify his salary. Plus, Lowe is more analyst than insider. So he couldn’t slide into the void left open by the sudden retirement of Adrian Wojnarowski. 

Wojnarowski did weigh in on Twitter with his full endorsement of Lowe.

Lowe made a name for himself while working with Bill Simmons at Grantland, before it was shut down in 2015. The Ringer or The Athletic could be his next stop. ESPN could also be building a war chest to bid on pending free agent Shams Charania. No wonder the 30-year-old Charania grinned like a Cheshire cat when Pat McAfee asked him about possible offers from NBC, Amazon and ESPN this week. “Just going through the process, baby,” said Charania with a smile.

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