Rockets tab McHale as next head coach
By Sports Network
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HOUSTON, Texas. -- The Houston Rockets have reportedly settled on Kevin McHale as their next head coach.
According to the Houston Chronicle, McHale has agreed in principle to a three- year contract. The deal would also include a team option for a fourth year.
The 53-year-old McHale replaces Rick Adelman, who was let go in April after four seasons at the helm.
A Hall of Fame player as a member of the Boston Celtics, McHale boasts only 94 games of coaching experience during two different stints with the Minnesota Timberwolves, for whom he worked in the front office from 1993-2009.
McHale served as interim coach for the final 31 games of the 2004-05 season after dismissing Flip Saunders, going 19-12 that year. He then took over bench duties for the fired Randy Wittman early in the 2008-09 campaign and the club posted a 20-43 record.
Before succeeding Wittman, the Minnesota native stepped down as the Timberwolves' vice president of basketball operations, a position he had held since 1995.
McHale spent 13 seasons with the Celtics, winning three NBA championships in the 1980s. He was a seven-time All-Star and was also selected as one of the league's top-50 all-time players in 1996.
The Rockets finished the 2010-11 season with a 43-39 record and missed the playoffs for a second consecutive year.
