The Jet raced too hard into the screen last week and he had to sit this one out. TNT announced that Tuesday’s edition of Inside the NBA will feature a special guest. Tonight, Jalen Rose is back to his Turner Roots not as a fifth talking head but as a substitute. Kenny Smith was noticeably absent between Chuck and Ernie. And of course fans had questions. Barring Charles Barkley’s made-up claims, there was some speculation about where Kenny is tonight.

The Tip-Off show started as it normally does with Ernie Johnson introducing his crew but instead of his usual inflection for “Kenny “The Jet” Smith,” he states, “Kenny is off.” Chuckster was in the mood to stir the pot today, so he yelled, “Got fired! Got fired, hopefully.” Did Kenny really get fired?

That’s a big no from The Godfather. Ernie didn’t let Chuck start the Kenny trolling too early. After Jalen Rose clarified, “He’s just off,” Ernie offered the hints for fans to draw their own conclusions. “The week of Thanksgiving, Kenny off, I don’t know, you guys tie the loose ends with us.” 

Ernie’s clues do add up. Kenny is not under the weather, it’s not a sudden absence, and as much as Charles Barkley would like you to believe, he’s not fired a week after ESPN picked up the show. The Rockets legend has very sporadic activity on social media and has kept his whereabouts quiet. But it’s likely that he’s spending Thanksgiving week with his family. He’s clearly doing it with the blessing of the crew since TNT was prepared for his absence.

Kenny is not being missed tonight

Ahead of Tuesday’s broadcast, TNT Sports announced that Kenny would take the day off. They also confirmed the special guest subbing in for him will be Jalen Rose. The NBA star was previously at ESPN and they’re practically family now that the Disney-owned network will keep Inside the NBA going.

Would Rose reappear on ESPN again via Inside the NBA? Who knows! But he’s no newbie on the Turner circuit. Back when he was still a player, he did something like Draymond Green does now, getting into sideline reporting. The crew dug up one of his best sideline reports from the vault as an initiation rite.

It was a throwback to 2006 when Nick Van Exel, before he made the transition to coaching, was accurately tossing towels at Jalen Rose’s head during his soundbite. Two decades later, Rose is praising his commitment to the mic for not letting that get to him.

Too bad for Kenny, Rose is doing a great job and making a solid case to steal his chair. But he’s confirmed he’s repping “the OG” Kenny and even did some warm-ups to outrace Shaq and Chuck to the board to preserve The Jet’s record.

This won’t be the last we see of TNT Jalen. He will return for the final day of the NBA Cup’s group stage. And rumor has it that Kenny will be on it too.