It’s official: Hall of Famer Kevin McHale is headed to Houston.
Confirming numerous reports over the past couple days, McHale said Tuesday night he has agreed to become the Rockets’ next coach. The former Boston Celtics great takes over for Rick Adelman, who left the team days after his fourth season in Houston ended.
“I was a little uncertain whether I was going to jump in with both feet — I wanted it to be the right situation — but after spending time with them, I felt this is a good situation to get involved in,” McHale told NBA.com before Game 1 of the NBA finals.
McHale’s first coaching experience came when he took over the Timberwolves for the last 31 games of the 2005 season after he fired Flip Saunders. The longtime Minnesota executive went back to the front office after that, then returned to coach in 2008 after Randy Wittman was fired.
McHale, 53, went 20-43 after taking over that season before the Timberwolves let him go. He had been working as a TV analyst.
“Kevin’s experiences as a player, coach and general manager, coupled with his tremendous knowledge of the game and players, made him a terrific analyst for NBA TV and TNT,” Turner Sports President David Levy said in a release. “Our audience will miss his diverse perspective and terrific sense of humour. We wish Kevin the best of luck in his new role as head coach of the Houston Rockets.”
Houston has missed the playoffs the last two years as it dealt with injuries that have limited all-star centre Yao Ming to just five games since 2008-09. That season Houston reached the Western Conference semifinals, breaking a streak of seven consecutive first-round exits for the franchise.
Yao’s contract expires this summer, but he has said he hopes to continue playing for the Rockets when he recovers from the stress fracture to his left ankle.
McHale was the third overall pick in the 1980 draft, won three championships with the Celtics and was honoured as one of the 50 greatest NBA players of all time in 1996.
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HOUSTON —
It’s official: Hall of Famer Kevin McHale is headed to Houston.
Confirming numerous reports over the past couple days, McHale said Tuesday night he has agreed to become the Rockets’ next coach. The former Boston Celtics great takes over for Rick Adelman, who left the team days after his fourth season in Houston ended. “I was a little uncertain whether I was going to jump in with both feet — I wanted it to be the right situation — but after spending time with them, I felt this is a good situation to get involved in,” McHale told NBA.com before Game 1 of the NBA finals. McHale’s first coaching experience came when he took over the Timberwolves for the last 31 games of the 2005 season after he fired Flip Saunders. The longtime Minnesota executive went back to the front office after that, then returned to coach in 2008 after Randy Wittman was fired. McHale, 53, went 20-43 after taking over that season before the Timberwolves let him go. He had been working as a TV analyst. “Kevin’s experiences as a player, coach and general manager, coupled with his tremendous knowledge of the game and players, made him a terrific analyst for NBA TV and TNT,” Turner Sports President David Levy said in a release. “Our audience will miss his diverse perspective and terrific sense of humor. We wish Kevin the best of luck in his new role as head coach of the Houston Rockets.” Houston has missed the playoffs the last two years as it dealt with injuries that have limited All-Star center Yao Ming to just five games since 2008-09. That season Houston reached the Western Conference semifinals, breaking a streak of seven consecutive first-round exits for the franchise. Yao’s contract expires this summer, but he has said he hopes to continue playing for the Rockets when he recovers from the stress fracture to his left ankle. McHale was the third overall pick in the 1980 draft, won three championships with the Celtics and was honored as one of the 50 greatest NBA players of all time in 1996.
Kevin McHale has agreed to become the next coach of the Houston Rockets.
McHale’s hire was originally reported on Friday. The TNT analyst confirmed that he had agreed to take the position on NBA TV’s pregame show before Game 1 of the NBA Finals.
“Doing the TV has been fantastic,” McHale told NBA.com Tuesday. “But this was a chance. It came up, I talked to them. I was a little uncertain whether I was going to jump in with both feet — I wanted it to be the right situation — but after spending time with them, I felt this is a good situation to get involved in.”
According to NBA.com, McHale will sign a three-year contract with an option for a fourth year. The former Boston Celtics star expects to be introduced as coach Friday in Houston, the website said.
McHale, formerly the Minnesota Timberwolves’ general manager, was 39-55 in two stints as the Wolves’ interim coach. He was 19-12 after taking over for Flip Saunders in the 2004-05 season and posted a 20-43 mark after replacing Randy Wittman for the final 63 games in the 2008-09 season.
“I had really wanted to coach again,” McHale told NBA.com. “You miss the competition when you’re away from it. That’s what I missed the last couple of years. I’ve done it my whole life.
“From a coaching standpoint, you have a lot more [impact] on the outcome of the game than when you’re GM-ing. My last stint with the guys in Minnesota, I really enjoyed myself with them. It was a younger team and I had a lot of fun doing it.”
McHale’s time as an executive in Minnesota was highlighted by drafting Kevin Garnett out of high school in 1995. Other moves and draft decisions didn’t go over as well with fans and he began to draw criticism.
Houston has missed the playoffs the last two years as it dealt with injuries that have limited All-Star center Yao Ming to just five games since the 2008-09 season. That year, Houston reached the Western Conference semifinals, breaking a streak of seven consecutive first-round exits for the franchise.
Yao’s contract expires this summer, but he has said he hopes to continue playing for the Rockets when he recovers from the stress fracture to his left ankle.
McHale was the third overall pick in the 1980 draft, won three championships with the Celtics and was named one of the 50 greatest NBA players of all time in 1996.
Information from The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Kevin McHale has been hired as the Houston Rockets’ new head coach, according to Yahoo!’s Adrian Wojnarowski. News broke Thursday that, after three interviews with the former general manager of the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Rockets offered McHale the job. Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle has reported that the deal will go three seasons with a team option on the fourth year. Justice said the final item to hammer out was direction over the rest of the coaching staff.
McHale met with Rockets owner Leslie Alexander this week after interviewing twice with general manager Daryl Morey. The fit is an interesting one; Morey is the face of the advanced metric vanguard, and McHale is seen as an old-school basketball type who relies more on eyes than spreadsheets. McHale served as the general manager of the Wolves for more than a decade after his Hall-of-Fame career with the Boston Celtics ended. Under McHale’s watch, Minnesota drafted Kevin Garnett and made a string of postseason appearances. But the Wolves made it so far as the conference finals just once, in 2004.
Wojnarowski reports that the Rockets will have strong input into McHale’s staff, with D-League coach Chris Finch — who runs the Rockets-affiliated Rio Grande Valley Vipers and Great Britain’s senior men’s national team — expected to move into a spot on the Houston bench.
For more on the Rockets, visit The Dream Shake and SB Nation Houston.
NBA sources told FOX 26 Sports Houston Rockets owner Leslie Alexander met with former Minnesota Timberwolves head coach Kevin McHale Wednesday in Miami.
McHale had already interviewed with Rockets general manager Daryl Morey and this was his first meeting with the Rockets owner.
The Rockets are in the process of trying to find their new coach to replace Rick Adelman, who parted ways with the team last month.
McHale is in Miami where he is working as part of TNT’s coverage of the NBA Eastern Conference Finals between the Miami Heat and the Chicago Bulls.
McHale was with the Timberwolves from 1995 through the 2008-09 season, mostly as vice-president of basketball operations. He had two brief stints as head coach in Minnesota, compiling a 39-55 record.
McHale is one of three finalists to become the next head coach of the Rockets. The other two are Dallas Mavericks assistant Dwane Casey and Boston Celtics assistant Lawrence Frank
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