Houston Rockets: The Rockets family mourns the loss of beloved former coach and general manager, Carroll Dawson, affectionately known as “CD.” For nearly three decades, CD was a cornerstone of our organization, instrumental in shaping the careers of stars like Hakeem Olajuwon and Ralph Sampson. A proud Texas native, CD served as the only coach to be present for all four of Houston’s NBA Finals appearances, including the back-to-back championship teams. As general manager, he brought iconic talents to Houston including Charles Barkley, Steve Francis, Yao Ming, and Tracy McGrady, while also assembling the four-time WNBA champion Houston Comets. While CD’s contributions to basketball were remarkable, it was his character that truly stood out. We will deeply miss his uplifting spirit, infectious humor, and kind-hearted nature. We are proud that CD’s legacy will forever be honored with his banner hanging from the rafters of Toyota Center, alongside our other Rockets legends.
Source: Twitter @HoustonRockets
Source: Twitter @HoustonRockets
What’s the buzz on Twitter?
David Aldridge @davidaldridgedc
RIP to Carroll Dawson, who taught me so much about the NBA for so many years, with warmth and humor. I don’t know anyone who didn’t like CD. He was good people. – 1:49 PM
RIP to Carroll Dawson, who taught me so much about the NBA for so many years, with warmth and humor. I don’t know anyone who didn’t like CD. He was good people. – 1:49 PM
CBS NBA @CBSSportsNBA
Carroll Dawson, longtime Rockets assistant coach and general manager, dies at 86
cbssports.com/nba/news/carro… – 12:44 PM
Carroll Dawson, longtime Rockets assistant coach and general manager, dies at 86
cbssports.com/nba/news/carro… – 12:44 PM
Jonathan Feigen @Jonathan_Feigen
Carroll Dawson, a key part of Rockets’ titles, dies at 86. “It wouldn’t have happened without him” houstonchronicle.com/sports/rockets… via @houstonchron – 11:45 AM
Carroll Dawson, a key part of Rockets’ titles, dies at 86. “It wouldn’t have happened without him” houstonchronicle.com/sports/rockets… via @houstonchron – 11:45 AM
More on this storyline
Charles Barkley: “When they came to meet with me, they were like, ‘We want to keep doing the show.’ I was like, ‘What do you mean? We don’t even have basketball!’ It really threw me for a loop. The only good thing about it was that I got to keep a lot of people their jobs, but I made it very clear: I’m not going to keep working forever. I’m going to do at least one more year so everybody can keep their jobs for another year. First of all, I have zero idea what we’re going to do. Let me get that out of the way. You have basketball next year at least. Yeah, so we were already going to do next year no matter what, but they said they want to keep doing the show a year after that. I said, ‘Guys, I can’t just keep working to be working.’” -via YouTube / September 8, 2024
Charles Barkley: “My original game plan was to retire at 60. I had told TNT, ‘I’m retiring at 60,’ and they were like, ‘Okay.’ And I said, ‘Hey, I’m just giving y’all a heads up, I’m retiring next year.’ They were like, ‘You gotta stay till the new deal is done.’ I’m like, ‘Damn,’ because they needed me for the negotiation. Little did I know they were going to mess that up. I said, ‘You know what, you guys have been great to me. I’ll stay for two more years.’ So next year was supposed to be my last year, and I was going to walk off into the sunset. But little did I know, like I just said, because it would have been perfect to pass the torch to Vince Carter or Jamal Crawford. Hey, 25 years, thank y’all, I’ll be 62 years old. And then the marketing race came, and I said, ‘Oh, this is actually even better for me. I can walk away out the next year and don’t have to worry about going to another network.’” -via YouTube / September 8, 2024
Charles Barkley: “I don’t think Ernie would go. I don’t think Ernie would leave Atlanta. Ever. Everything is on the board. Hey, Bill, as I told you earlier, we have zero idea what’s going to happen after this year. Zero. -via YouTube / September 8, 2024