The Rockets had an extraordinarily bold summer in trading Chris Paul for Russell Westbrook. I’ve marinated on the move for months, I’ve read Mike Prada’s breakdown, and I’m still not really prepared for how it will (or won’t) work. It’s just a mammoth shift in personality and personnel at an absolutely critical juncture in the Western Conference, with the Warriors looking more vulnerable than at any time since the dynasty began, with the Lakers and Clippers ascendant, with the Jazz, Nuggets, and Blazers steady but less than invincible. The Rockets undertook a huge renovation at a moment when the Western crown is truly up in the air.
The Rockets’ summer is incomplete because of Mike D’Antoni
We have that and more in Thursday’s NBA newsletter.
Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images
And they didn’t lock in or switch out their coach.
Mike D’Antoni’s contract expires at the end of the 2019-20 season. Extension talks broke off and were never resuscitated this summer. There was a massive reshuffling of the coaching staff under D’Antoni as those contracts expired. Rumors that D’Antoni would also be jettisoned swirled around the early offseason. But he stayed.
And now he enters this critical, complex effort to assimilate Westbrook into the Harden universe as a lame duck coach.
We can debate how important coaches are to NBA teams, especially veteran NBA teams. But in these circumstances, adding a high-volume former MVP to your pre-existing high-volume former MVP — it takes some finesse. And you are stripping your coach of finesse by keeping him on such a short leash.
This is baking a cake and forgetting to put buttercream between the two sponges. (Yes, Bake-Off is back, how did you guess?) Westbrook has always shown loyalty to his coaches, and Harden seems close to D’Antoni. But there’s a whole roster and a whole staff to think about here, and this is a tricky situation for everyone to navigate with no guarantees the coach’s job would survive a slow start and with the understanding it’s highly unlikely he’s back next year. A lot can go wrong, and little can go right.
It feels like the lack of resolution on D’Antoni’ future leaves the Rockets’ summer incomplete.
Meanwhile, in the World Cup ...
When we wrote about the FIBA World Cup on Tuesday, we noted there hadn’t been many surprises to that point. In the hours that followed, Turkey almost beat Team USA, the Dominicans beat Germany, and Brazil knocked off Greece. The next day, Iran gave Spain a run for its money. Welp! So much for a boring tournament.
The first group stage wraps up in the hours after this newsletter will be published. Already one shocker has shaken out: the Czech Republic beat Turkey to claim the second spot in Team USA’s Group E. That is a reflection of what makes the United States’ close call to Turkey so unnerving: Turkey is not a top-tier contender. This wasn’t a near-loss to a powerhouse rival. It was a near-loss to a team that has finished outside the top 16 in the tournament.
As of this writing, just one spot is left in the second round, and it will go to the winner of Greece vs. New Zealand. It would be a monumental failure for Greece to fall short with Giannis Antetokounmpo in tow.
Team USA plays Japan later Thursday morning, by the way. The game means almost nothing since Japan won’t move on and thus the result against Japan will be wiped from the board. But another close call against a lesser team will sure bring out the vultures. Heck, I already got my vulture costume pressed just in case.
Links
The Mystics have the best WNBA offense ever. Here’s how it works, per Matt Ellentuck.
Crucial, interesting piece by ESPN’s Zach Lowe on teams going for superstar duos and depth instead of superstar trios.
Buddy Hield, a proud Bahamian, donated $100,000 to Hurricane Dorian relief on the islands and has started a GoFundMe to raise more.
LeBron James is rightfully catching boatloads of jokes for trying to trademark “Taco Tuesday.” I mean ... what’s he going to do with that if he succeeds, anyway? James Dator rounds up other absurd sports trademark attempts.
Wait, can Gregg Popovich trademark “Pop Quiz” after giving Brook Lopez A CAR for knowing the periodic symbol for silver (which very well might be relevant to Team USA in 10 days)?
Liz Cambage in the ESPN Body Issue. Chris Paul in the ESPN Body Issue. The legend Nancy Lieberman in the ESPN Body Issue.
My favorite follow during big international basketball events is Jay Aych, who basically never otherwise tweets. Follow him! He knows his stuff!
We may or may not be back to daily newsletters next week, that’s just a rumor. Be excellent to each other.
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