The Houston Rockets didn’t bring in Chip Engelland this summer for nostalgia. They hired him because they know exactly what he’s been able to do for young offensive players, and because San Antonio’s rivals have seen the blueprint up close.
Engelland’s reputation was built on turning shaky shooters into legitimate threats. Kawhi Leonard and Tony Parker are the marquee examples, but they’re far from the only ones. Dejounte Murray, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, Chet Holmgren and others have all made major strides in their scoring games with his help.
That’s why the Rockets’ move feels so pointed. If Engelland can do for Houston what he did in San Antonio, the Spurs could be looking at a fresh problem in their own division. And the player who stands to benefit most is Amen Thompson, who looks like a jump shot away from becoming a star.
The Leonard case still says plenty about why Engelland is so coveted. Leonard came out of San Diego State known more for defense than offense, and his long-range shooting was rough - he hit just 25% of his three-point tries there.
The Spurs traded George Hill to Indiana for the rights to the 15th pick in the 2011 NBA Draft with hope that Leonard would grow on the offensive end. He did that and then some.
Under Engelland’s guidance, Leonard knocked down more than 37% of his threes over his first three seasons. He was even better in the playoffs, making at least 39% of his postseason attempts from deep between 2012 and 2014.
That improvement helped fuel a run that ended with Leonard winning Finals MVP in his third season. Engelland’s work on Leonard’s release point was a major reason for that leap.
Now Houston is asking for a similar breakthrough, and Thompson is the obvious candidate. If he becomes a real shooter, the ripple effects for the Rockets would be huge.
San Antonio’s defense wouldn’t be able to cheat off him on the perimeter or ignore him while he sits in the dunker spot. His growth as a floor spacer would open driving lanes for other Rockets players and make life easier for Kevin Durant and Alperen Sengun.
It would also give Houston a much stronger clutch offense.
The Spurs handled the Rockets last season, winning three of the four meetings. But a more dangerous Thompson changes the math. He would force San Antonio to defend Houston differently, and that could matter not just in the regular season but also if the teams cross paths in the playoffs.
That’s the strange part for the Spurs: Engelland’s reputation was built in San Antonio, and they should take pride in that. He became one of the league’s most valuable assistant coaches there. Now he’s carrying that value to another Western Conference rival, and for the Spurs, that makes the whole thing feel a little bittersweet.
In Other News...
Kyrie Irving Could Force An Early Mavericks Decision
As the new season draws closer, the Mavericks are still weighing how their roster should look around Kyrie Irving, even after turning away offseason trade interest in him. The talk around Dallas has not gone away, though, and one of the teams that keeps surfacing in that conversation is San Antonio, where any big swing would immediately reshape the backcourt picture and the franchises timeline.
For the Spurs, the appeal is obvious enough to invite debate: a proven veteran guard would change the way the young core is developed and how the offense is organized around it. But the fit question is where things get interesting, because bringing in a player of that caliber would force an early decision on how the club wants to handle its guard rotation and the minutes it has been saving for its next lead ballhandler. [Read more 🡒]
Pelicans Add Intriguing Guard With More At Stake Than Camp Depth
Markquis Nowell is getting another chance to make a case for himself, signing a training camp deal with the New Orleans Pelicans after spending most of the 2023-24 season on a two-way contract with the Toronto Raptors. It is the latest stop for a guard who has already logged time in the NBA, the G League and overseas, and it fits a wider pattern around camp season as teams sort through players who can help immediately or at least keep pressure on the bottom of the roster.
Around the league, the Minnesota Timberwolves signed guard Stephen Thompson to a training camp contract and waived Jules Bernard, while San Antonio also made a small but notable move of its own. For the Spurs, these kinds of signings usually point to the same bigger question: which young guards can turn a short runway in camp into something more substantial once the real roster battles begin? [Read more 🡒]
Tobias Harris Just Put Keldon Johnson's Spurs Future In Doubt
The Spurs added a veteran presence in Tobias Harris, and the move has an immediate ripple effect on Keldon Johnsons place in the rotation. Johnson has long been one of the teams most dependable, high-energy pieces, but Harris gives San Antonio another experienced forward option and shifts the conversation around where Johnson fits best.
For Johnson, the path forward appears narrower than it once did. He should still bring the durability and pace the Spurs value, yet his minutes could be trimmed as the team sorts out its wing and forward group around Devin Vassell and Carter Bryant. In a rotation that keeps getting deeper, Johnsons role may not disappear, but it is no longer as secure as it looked earlier in the offseason. [Read more 🡒]