Houston Rockets Fire Coach Kevin McHale

According to local ABC13 reports, Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey said on Wednesday that the Rockets fired the 57-year-old McHale because the team was not responding to him and there was no time to wait for a turnaround in the Western Conference.

The Houston Rockets’ dismal 4-7 start that featured way too much lifeless, and often embarrassing, effort, cost Kevin McHale his job.

McHale’s firing as the Rockets’ head coach came as a surprise also to him but Ainge is quite confident that his former teammate will still be sticking around the National Basketball Association and teams would like to get his services.

McHale, who went 193-130 during his tenure with the Rockets, signed a 3-year contract extension worth more than $12 million last December. Scott Brooks, who coached Rockets to the title in 1995, is a leading candidate.

ESPN reported that the Rockets had a “players only” meeting at their home court on Tuesday, similar to what the Sacramento Kings did last week, but this time the result of the gathering was the dismissal of the team’s head coach.

“I think you just watch our team play and it’s not that hard (to see)”, Morey said. This comes after the Rockets made it to the Western Conference Finals previous year, but lost to the eventual NBA Champion Golden State Warriors. As we all sort of say: “It’s a volatile business, and sometimes it doesn’t make sense… like Kevin McHale getting fired”.

There’s been no word as to where McHale will end up, but Boston GM Danny Ainge has said he’s welcome to work for the Celtics. Selected with the 3rd overall pick in the 1980 NBA Draft, Kevin McHale played for the Celtics until he retired in 1993. Despite bringing back most of the team’s core and adding point guard Ty Lawson via trade, Houston stumbled out of the gate this year.

But entering the league and joining the Rockets, Dekker found himself last on the depth chart behind veterans Trevor Ariza and Corey Brewer. I keep in touch with him – we text now and then.

During Houston’s 2015 playoff run, the Rockets raved about how McHale was a player’s coach.

Houston has been one of the biggest disappointments early this year after losing its first three games. Star James Harden said he was comfortable with him from the moment they met.