In Sacramento, Jason Anderson noted Kings announcer Kyle Draper “will not return next season” as a member of the team’s television broadcast on NBC Sports California. Draper spent six seasons in Sacramento as a studio host and substitute play-by-play announcer. He announced his departure on social media Tuesday, saying that his contract “was not renewed.” The news came days after primary Kings play-by-play announcer Mark Jones announced he was leaving ESPN, “potentially clearing the way for him to call Kings games on a full-time basis” (SACRAMENTO BEE, 4/14).
DOCUMENTARY DEBUT: THE ATHLETIC’s Jason Jones noted the documentary “Untold: Jail Blazers,” debuted Tuesday on Netflix. The doc details how the Trail Blazers “picked up the infamous ‘Jail Blazers’ moniker” and includes former GM Bob Whitsitt “explaining why he continued to add roster players with problematic backgrounds.” Jones wrote it is also a look at “how a player’s culture can clash with a community, as well as why a team that didn’t win a championship remains topical 26 years later.” It is a “fascinating look at how a group of players who became a symbol for all, at the time, considered wrong with the NBA reflected on what it meant to wear that label then, and what it means now as men in their late 40s and early 50s” (THE ATHLETIC, 4/14).
