Published on Tuesday, June 21, 2011
By SB Sun Staff Writer
Spero Dedes declined the Lakers' offer to step in as their new TV play-by-play man and is set to take a job with the New York Knicks instead, industry sources say.
The Lakers announced Tuesday that Bill Macdonald would call games next season on Fox Sports West and KCAL-Channel 9, partnered with Stu Lantz.
John Ireland will do games on the Lakers' KSPN-AM (710) radio flagship station with Mychal Thompson.
Dedes, a New Jersey native and graduate of Fordham University in New York, worked as the Lakers' radio voice for the past six seasons and was first in line to replace Joel Meyers when his contract was not renewed in April. When the Knicks decided not to re-sign Gus Johnson as their radio voice, the job became open. Dedes will also be to do Knicks TV games when Mike Breen has network assignments.
Lakers media relations director John Black said the team had a verbal agreement with Spero "to be our new TV play-by-play announcer but he had a change of heart." Dedes did not return a phone call for immediate comment.
Dedes, 31, had been doing NFL games and college basketball games for CBS and was a host for the NFL Network and NBA TV. He and his agent, Sandy Montag, had been trying to negotiate a deal with the Lakers for the past two months that would allow Dedes to take some games off for network assignments, but the Lakers were not willing to accept those terms.
The Lakers have been sensitive to broadcasters not being fully committed to their schedule. In 2006, Macdonald stepped in for Meyers, who left to do an NFL playoff radio assignment. That night, Kobe Bryant scored a franchise-record 81 points.
Macdonald will keep his job at Fox Sports West and Prime Ticket, a place he's worked since 1985 as a reporter, host and play-by-play man, through August.
"How could I turn this offer down?" said Macdonald, who most likely would have been put in as the radio play-by-play man if Dedes stayed, having subbed in a half-dozen times last season.
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