ESPN's Brian Windhorst Reportedly Previously Eyed by Presti for Thunder Front Office

Brian Windhorst has made a name for himself as one of the most prominent figures in NBA media, but he reportedly could have had a job in a front office.

On the latest episode of Pablo Torre Finds Out, Torre, a former colleague of Windhorst at ESPN, reported that Oklahoma City Thunder general manager Sam Presti eyed Windhorst for a role in the team's front office.

“One thing I can report is that a little over a decade ago, he actually explored our extremely plugged-in buddy, Brian Windhorst, away from ESPN, to work as an information guy for the Thunder,” Torre said.

According to Torre, the reason Presti wanted to hire Windhorst was because of the insider's vast knowledge of what other teams are up to.

“And the question of like, ‘Why would he do that?’ The reason that Sam Presti kicked the tires on hiring Brian Windhorst from ESPN is that information to Sam Presti is currency," Torre said. "It is an edge, a competitive advantage. And you don’t surrender that information.”

Windhorst ultimately didn't end up in the Thunders' front office, instead opting to continue his career as a reporter.

It's not completely uncommon for a former media member to join a front office. Awful Announcing's Sam Neumann noted that John Hollinger, now of The Athletic, left ESPN to become the Memphis Grizzlies' vice president of operations. The Thunder have Royce Young, formerly of ESPN, and Sebastian Pruiti, a former contributor for Grantland, in the front office.

But while former reporters have joined front offices, it would have been a first for a media member as prominent as Windhorst to join an NBA team. Windhorst started his career covering a high school LeBron James and rose to fame over the past two decades.

For now, he'll stick to covering basketball rather than trying to win a championship.