NBA Insider Slammed For Awful AI Pic of D'Angelo Russell Signing

NBA journalists are falling down the tubes. Veteran NBA insider Chris B. Haynes, a close ally of LeBron James, took heat Monday afternoon over his announcement of the D’Angelo Russell news. 

Haynes ‘reported’ the news of the NBA free-agent guard signing with the Dallas Mavericks, via his X account, but was slammed for using a sloppy AI-generated photo of Russell in a jersey that read "Daliers" instead of "Dallas."

"We've got NBA reporters using AI slop; what happened to the game I love," one NBA fan mourned, lamenting the state of NBA Twitter, which was once a haven for bombshell news. 

Like the league itself, the quality of NBA insiders' news has significantly declined. In this case, the old-school Haynes was better off using a generic picture of Russell or none at all.

The former Yahoo NBA reporter later deleted the post, replacing it with an edited graphic of Russell in a Mavericks jersey; however, fans had already saved screenshots of the AI gaffe.

It’s been a tough stretch for Haynes amid the shakeup in NBA reporting, especially after top newsbreaker Adrian Wojnarowski retired. 

Haynes hasn’t landed a major scoop since DeMar DeRozan was in a Raptors jersey and has been quiet during LeBron James’ time in Los Angeles, with fellow veteran Shams Charania consistently beating him to the punch.

Monday’s NBA free agency kicked off without the blockbuster trades fans expected, with D’Angelo Russell’s move being one of the few surprises, though the NBA was overshadowed by the NFL’s news of the Miami Dolphins trading Jalen Ramsey to the Pittsburgh Steelers. 

Send us your thoughts: alejandro.avila@outkick.com / Follow along on X: @alejandroaveela