Former NBA player Mychal Thompson, who hosted an ESPN radio show in Los Angeles until losing his job under new management in December, is being given a tryout with KXTG (95.5 FM “The Game”) in Portland, where the 1978 overall #1 pick spent the first nine seasons of his 15-year career. Thompson, who has also worked as a Lakers radio analyst for the last eight years, will begin an audition on Wednesday to host the 10 a.m.-to- noon slot.
Thompson lives in Los Angeles but would have to move to Portland if given the position, said program director Brian Jennings.
L.A. has been good to Thompson and his family, but his heart has remained with the City of Roses.
Advertisement“I love Portland,” he says. “I always tell Julie, Portland’s my favorite city.”
Thompson will do his shows for “The Game” with co-host Dave Smith, a Los Angeles broadcaster “who has Portland connections and knows the market well,” Jennings says. They’ll conduct their shows from a studio in L.A.
“Hopefully, it will turn into something permanent,” Thompson says. “We’re freelancing, looking to get on somebody’s station.
“It’s like having Kobe (Bryant) and Dwyane (Wade) as free agents. Somebody has to be smart enough to sign us.”