Richard Justice of the Chronicle recently reported that the Rockets’ coaching search has dwindled down to three likely candidates in Lawrence Frank, Dwane Casey, and Kevin McHale.
On the topic of Frank and Casey, I don’t have much to add that already has not been said. Frank would seem to be in the Van Gundy mold while Casey would probably be the safest hire. McHale, however, is intriguing. The former Celtic would bring instant credibility to the lockerroom, something no other candidate could do with Adelman gone. There is also the hope McHale could help in the development of Hasheem Thabeet like he did with Kevin Garnett, with the HOFer personally tutoring the former prep star in their days together in Minnesota. While his on-court credentials are undeniable, one wonders how much of a basketball mind McHale possesses. With a slew of bad moves, he’s personally responsible for the waste that was Kevin Garnett’s prime. (With that said, one could argue it was only the bad judgment of the ‘Joe Smith debacle’ that brought down the Wolves rather than any poor personnel decisions.) There’s also the question of whether a man of McHale’s stature would be open to taking orders from above. It seems that part of the rift with Adelman was that he was not on board with management’s long-term vision. Like Justice, I think McHale would be the glamour hire. I’m just not sure if he’s the right man for the job, but time will tell.
