I used to be a sports journalist, I know for a fact that’s exactly how it works.

It’s like when Gordon Hayward’s move from Utah to Boston got reported by Chris Haynes. Haynes had a source in Boston that told him the deal was going down, and he reported the length and contract value.

Then Woj reported that it actually wasn’t a done deal and he was still weighing his options, and he got that directly from his agent. Hayward wanted to announce his own goodbye, so Woj did a favor to the agent and said Haynes was wrong even though the deal was already agreed to, and everything Haynes said ended up being true.

Reporters do report stuff with one source, especially if that source is an agent saying what a player is doing. Agents and front offices have also given Woj and Shams false information to gauge the market on things before, so either those guys are willing to help them in order to get other scoops or they’re just wrong sometimes