Analyst Kustok to stay with YES
While the Nets and the Clippers were going strong after top free agents Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and Kawhi Leonard, the franchises were in a fight for another quasi-free agent, The Post has learned: YES analyst Sarah Kustok. The Clippers attempted to sign the fast-rising Kustok to be their new TV analyst, even making her an offer. Kustok was, in essence, a restricted free agent, as she still has one more year on her deal locally. YES was within its rights to not let her even talk to Los Angeles.
But YES did let her negotiate, and the Clippers made her an offer. YES, though, came back with a counter, and the two sides are finishing up a multi-year deal.
“It is always an honor to be considered for another opportunity in the business,” Kustok told The Post, though she did not want to go into details about the Clippers’ recruitment.
Kustok praised the heads of YES, Jon Litner and John Fillipelli, and said she really didn’t want to leave her YES family of Ian Eagle, Ryan Ruocco, Richard Jefferson, Jim Spanarkel, Michael Grady, Bob Lorenz and producer Frank DiGraci.
YES continues to be a breeding ground for top analysts. Besides its current crew, it has launched or helped the careers of Michelle Beadle, Mark Jackson and Greg Anthony, among others. The Clippers are still looking for a new analyst.
They did have talks with Jefferson, too, according to sources, but he, too, likes YES and is on the rise at ESPN.