Longtime ESPN NBA writer Kevin Pelton is leaving the outlet for a role in the front office of the WNBA’s Houston Comets, sources told Front Office Sports.
As FOS’s Annie Costabile reported late last week, a group led by Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta is purchasing the Connecticut Sun for $300 million with plans to move the franchise to Houston and restore the Comets name. The original Comets won the first four WNBA championships before folding in 2008.
A spokesperson for the Rockets declined to comment on Pelton. The hire was first reported by ESPN.
Pelton is the latest NBA and WNBA media member to join a team’s front office. The Portland Fire recently hired longtime women’s basketball writer Ben Pickman away from The Athletic as a salary cap and strategy analyst. In October, Monumental Sports, the parent company of the Mystic and Wizards, hired former ESPN executive editor Cristina Daglas as the head of research and identity. Michael Winger, the president of Monumental Basketball, previously hired longtime Sports Illustrated writer Lee Jenkins in a similar role when he was assistant GM of the Clippers.
Other journalists have worked in NBA front offices over the years. John Hollinger, Pickman’s former colleague at The Athletic, previously worked as the Grizzlies’ vice president of basketball operations from December 2012 to April 2019 after he was hired away from ESPN.
Pelton originally joined ESPN in 2013. His coverage of the NBA has had a focus on analytics, and he has also dabbled in covering the WNBA. He previously served as a statistical consultant for the Pacers from 2010 to 2012.
