Houston Rockets star Harden will skip basketball World Cup

Houston Rockets star James Harden is opting out of the basketball World Cup in China, the Houston Chronicle reported on Friday.Harden, speaking at a charity event, told the newspaper he wants to spend the rest of the NBA off-season preparing to play with a new-look Rockets, who acquired Oklahoma City Thunder star Russell Westbrook in a trade for Chris Paul this month.Houston’s Eric Gordon and P.J. Tucker are currently slated to play for the USA, which will hold a training camp in Las Vegas August 5-9 before the World Cup begins in China on August 31.Harden’s decision comes days after news broke that Anthony Davis – the former New Orleans Pelicans star who just signed to team with LeBron James at the Los Angeles Lakers – had withdrawn from consideration for the US World Cup team that will be coached by San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich.Pacers add second Holiday brother, sign Guard JustinThe Indiana Pacers added more guard help Friday in the wake of Darren Collison’s recent retirement, signing a one-year, $4.8mn deal with free-agent guard Justin Holiday. The move unites Holiday with brother Aaron, who figures to see his responsibilities at point guard increase in his second NBA season.Justin Holiday, 30, averaged 10.5 points and had 3.9 rebounds in 82 games (77 starts) for the Chicago Bulls and Memphis Grizzlies last season. The Bulls traded him to Memphis in January.Justin Holiday, a product of Washington, is heading into his seventh NBA season and has an 8.1 career scoring average. Aaron Holiday, 22 and a product of UCLA, averaged 5.9 points and 1.7 assists in 50 games with the Pacers last season after he was drafted No. 23 overall.The two are also brothers of veteran New Orleans Pelicans guard Jrue Holiday.Kings hire ex-WNBA player Harding as assistant coachFormer Duke and WNBA player Lindsey Harding has been hired by the Sacramento Kings as an assistant coach.“Lindsey is a rising star and I’m so excited to have her join our incredibly experienced team of coaches,” Kings coach Luke Walton said. “Her basketball IQ and proven success on the court will be a valuable addition to our growing team as we work together to build a winning culture for many years to come.”Most recently a player development coach for the Philadelphia 76ers beginning in April, Harding was the first black woman to become a full-time NBA scout when the Sixers hired her before the 2018-19 season.Other female coaches in the NBA include Kara Lawson of the Boston Celtics, Becky Hammon of the San Antonio Spurs, Jenny Boucek of the Dallas Mavericks and Lindsay Gottlieb of the Cleveland Cavaliers.In a nine-year WNBA playing career, Harding had stints with the Minnesota Lynx (2007-08), Washington Mystics (2009-10), Atlanta Dream (2011-12), Los Angeles Sparks (2013-14), New York Liberty (2016) and Phoenix Mercury (2016). She averaged 9.8 points, 2.9 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 1.1 steals and 28.7 minutes in 270 career games.She was the first overall pick in the 2007 WNBA Draft. Playing four seasons at Duke, Harding won the 2007 Naismith College Player of the Year award and, in 2018, became the third women’s basketball student-athlete to be enshrined in the Duke Athletics Hall of Fame.Walton was hired as head coach of the Kings in April after he parted ways with the Los Angeles Lakers. He earlier hired former Phoenix Suns coach Igor Kokoskov as an assistant.