NBA Special Report: Kevin McHale ‘likely’ to land Houston Rockets Head Coach Job
Sources close to Kevin McHale have revealed that the legendary former Boston Celtics player has been chosen by the Houston Rockets management to be their head coach for the upcoming NBA season.
McHale will reportedly be offered a 4 year contract and the Rockets will have the option on the fourth year. It is not yet confirmed if Kevin has accepted the offer but rumours earlier suggested that he was very interested in the
position. Therefore not many issues are expected once the contract is presented to him.
Kevin McHale was a part of the original “Big Three” in the Boston Celtics alongside Robert Parish and Larry Bird. The trio went on to be one of the most successful in NBA history and had a fierce and well storied rivalry with the
Los Angeles Lakers. McHale won three NBA Championships and played all 13 years of his NBA career in Boston.
Kevin McHale’s first coaching stint in the NBA came at his hometown of Minnesota. McHale took over the Minnesota Timberwolves in midseason when Flip Saunders was fired and results of the team improved afterwards. However, Kevin
was not given the job full time and had to wait till Randy Whitman was given the boot to again take the reins midway through the season. In all, his record in NBA as head coach is an unglamorous 39 – 55, but the quality of the side at his disposal and the
circumstances of the job have to be taken into consideration.
Kevin McHale has since wanted to come back into the NBA as head coach in order to prove himself on this stage. He was linked to many jobs earlier and now it has surfaced that the Houston Rockets will finally be hiring his services.
McHale faced competition for the job from the likes of Dwane Casey, who is the assistant coach at the Dallas Mavericks. Casey does have NBA head coaching experience and the Mavericks’ superb form in this year’s playoffs would have
counted in his favour. The other man vying for the job was the Boston Celtics assistant Lawrence Frank. He too, has served as an NBA head coach before.
However, the Rockets have seemingly decided on Kevin McHale. His status as an NBA great is viewed as a key motivator that can come in handy for a Rockets team that is in a weak state at the moment. Kevin McHale certainly will have
a job on his hands and the roster is expected to be freshened up before the season begins.
His most notable concern when taking over would be to make a decision about the often injured big man, Yao Ming. Ming has been plagued by injuries and the Rockets must decide soon whether they are going to persist with him or bring
in a replacement in the close season. McHale, himself a big forward, would certainly have a point of view on the matter.
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