Kevin McHale, who played 971 games in 13 seasons with the Boston Celtics, has been hired by the Houston Rockets as the franchises' next head coach.
The deal will bring McHale to the Rockets for three seasons guaranteed, with a team option for the fourth year. McHale last served as the coach of the Minnesota Timberwolves, going 39-55 as a coach in two seasons in Minneapolis.
The Rockets became sold on McHale because they believe he will be a good communicator with their young players. Front office officials also believe McHale has a hunger to succeed as a coach in his post-Hall of Fame playing career. (via Yahoo! Sports)
McHale scored 17,335 points and totaled 7,122 rebounds and a career field goal percentage of .554. McHale is the Celtics' third leading scorer all-time and averaged a franchise best 1.7 blocks per game in his career. In addition, McHale had 2,358 career offensive rebounds, which ranks second all-time in franchise history.