Li Nan, head coach of the Chinese men's national basketball team, has lost his job, and Du Feng, head coach of the Guangdong Southern Tigers, will take over, the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) announced on Thursday.

Li's removal should not come as a surprise after China's disappointing performance in the FIBA Basketball World Cup. The team only won two of the five games in the tournament at home, not only failing to enter Round 16 but also missing early qualification for the 2020 Summer Olympics Games in Tokyo.

It's not fair to blame everything on Li alone, but it's difficult to argue for him after a series of confusing decisions, including the timing of calling a timeout and his choice of players on the court in the games.

In April 2017, as one of Yao Ming's reforms, the CBA established two national teams, Team Red and Team Blue, led by Li and Du respectively. The two teams would then be consolidated into one, and the head coach of that team would go to one of the two coaches.

Li gained the upper hand by leading Team Red to the championship in the 2018 Asian Games, and in September 2018, he was named head coach of the Chinese national team. Li's primary mission was to help the team earn a spot in the 2020 Olympics at the World Cup. But he failed.

After the two teams became one, Du returned to the Southern Tigers and led the team to win their ninth league championship in franchise history. Du himself was named Coach of the Year. There won't be a national team game window in the new season, so Du will first finish his job in the Southern Tigers before joining the players in the national team.

The last opportunity to make the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo is the qualification tournament in June 2020. Du will lead China's charge at that tournament, but the competition then will only be more intense than that of the World Cup.