McHale Finds New Gig In Houston

McHale brings a championship
pedigree as a player to a
young Houston team.

It looks like the Houston Rockets have found their new head coach for the 2011-12 season.  The former Minnesota Timberwolves head coach Kevin McHale will be the man in charge of the sidelines if and when the '12 NBA season gets under way.

McHale is better known for his playing days with the Boston Celtics, winning three NBA championships in the 80's. He was rewarded for his play after being named the Sixth Man of the Year back-to-back years in '84 and '85. He is a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and has been honored by the Celtics with his number 32 in the rafters at the TD Garden.

    Most remember McHale for his brutal clothesline on Los Angeles Lakers and current Timberwolves head coach Kurt Rambis during the 1984 NBA Finals, swinging the series momentum in Boston's favor and eventually taking the crown in seven games.

    Following his playing career, McHale joined the Timberwolves broadcast team and worked as an assistant in the front office. He eventually moved all the way up to the Vice President of Basketball Operation for Minnesota and is credited with the hiring of head coach Flip Saunders and drafting future Hall of Famer Kevin Garnett out of high school in the first-round of the 1995 NBA Draft.

    When Saunders was fired during the 04-05 season, McHale took his first interim head coaching job leading the T-Wolves to a 19-12 record in the teams final 31 games. Dwane Casey was hired the following year, but his stint was short as he was fired by McHale in the middle of the '06-'07 season. His assistant Randy Wittman would take over the rest of the way.

McHale's hard nosed play represented
Boston's toughness throughout the '80's.

In December of 2008, Whittman was fired and once again McHale took over in Minnesota. This time he would not be as successful, posting a .317 winning percentage with a record of 20-43. McHale would not return for the '09-'10 season in Minnesota putting his coaching career on hold.

    McHales's resume as a head coach never included a trip to the postseason.

    Now almost two years later McHale will be succeeding Rick Adelman as the head coach in Houston, looking to bring back the winning ways to the Lone Star State.