Who Will Replace Phil Chenier on Washington Wizards Broadcasts?

Washington Wizards broadcaster and Washington Bullets shooting guard Phil Chenier has officially finished his duties as the primary game analyst after 33 years covering the team. Who will take his place?

Having been around the team since 1971, Phil Chenier has seen 46 seasons of Baltimore/Washington basketball up close, and is one of the most respected voices in and around the organization. As he will officially move into the studio, we’re left to wonder who will replace Chenier next to longtime buddy Steve Buckhantz.

Back in April, when the move was announced, fans were told that Comcast Sports Net Mid Atlantic had come up with a “handful of candidates and expects to audition them during the offseason.”

The decision to transition Chenier in-house was met with criticism from fans and a general sense of sadness and reflect, during what was possibly the best season in franchise history since Chenier still played in the NBA.

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While the previous quote probably means that we won’t hear more about the candidates until July or August, we are left to wonder who those candidates may be.

From Within

Christy Winters-Scott is probably the number one candidate to be hired from within. She has shown over time her experience and capabilities while calling Mystics games. Occasionally, she has also guest broadcasted Wizards games, in addition to work for ESPN, The Big Ten Network, and on NCAA Tournament Games.

She also has local ties, having played collegiately at the University of Maryland for four seasons before playing professionally overseas. At Maryland she is second in school history in points scored.

You can follow her on Twitter @ChristyWScott51

Other possibilities include other members of the Wizards’ overall broadcasting team, including Glenn Consor, who has been broadcasting radio with Dave Johnson for almost a decade. Before then he worked as a scout with the Wizards, and did pre and postgame work for CSN.

External Possibilities

The external possibilities I see available are all former Wizards. Looking around the league, many teams have one former player broadcasting, alongside a more traditional broadcaster. The three below all played together in the last decade, and would bring back fond memories for the younger Wizards fans watching broadcasts.

Caron Butler, who played for the Wizards from 2005-2010, is one of the most well respected players of this century. He was the team captain, always provided great quotes for the media, and was an All-Star for two seasons. Eventually he went on to be part of the 2011 Dallas Mavericks Championship team.

Like Winters-Scott, Butler has done part-time work for CSN in the past, in addition to national NBA media work for ESPN.

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Back in April, Butler signed with The Montag Group to represent him in his quest for representation in broadcasting work.

Luckily for Butler, it seems he’s overcome his need to chew on straws at all times too. During his time on ESPN’s The Jump and other broadcasts he didn’t seem to require the incessant straw intake.

Brendan Haywood is another possibility. He played for Washington from his rookie year in 2001 until he was traded in 2010 along with Butler to Dallas. Haywood has done analyst work behind the scenes at NBATV from time to time, and seems interested in moving from in the studio to broadcasting.

Besides his work on NBATV, he is also a college basketball announcer for CBS and a NBA analyst on SiriusXM Radio

Lastly, we have Antawn Jamison. He was a member of the Wizards from 2004-2010. Like Butler, he was a team captain, and helped keep the team together despite various states of injuries to star players and fragmentation.

Jamison has done the most work for CSN of these three players, and currently works as a TV analyst for the Lakers, doing pre and postgame, as well as halftime.

If Jamison wants to broadcast games, and return to the East coast, this would probably be an opportunity he would greatly enjoy.

It would be fun and interesting if three former teammates end up competing again, this time against each other, for the job of game analyst for their former team.

There are a lot of great candidates out there, and we’ll just have to wait to find out. Who knows, maybe it will be a dark horse candidate like say Gilbert Arenas (I kid).

Whoever ends up taking over the game analyst role from Chenier will certainly have big shoes to fill, and a fanbase expecting great chemistry from its broadcasting crew.

Next: Washington Wizards 2016-2017 End of Season Awards

The 2017-2018 season will truly be the start to a new era for Wizards fans old and young.

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