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 Danny Ainge to Kevin McHale: We have a spot for you

In what will come as absolutely no surprise to anyone, Kevin McHale was flooded with calls and text messages from his friends after his firing by the Rockets today.

And one of those friends offered him a job.

"I've always tried to get Kevin to come work with me and work with my big guys," said Celtic president of basketball operations Danny Ainge told the Herald.

Always includes now.

"I told Kevin that today," said Ainge, who is on the road scouting college games. "We've got a spot for him. I know we could figure something out for him in some capacity, but I think he's just in a wait and see mode.

"He appreciated me reaching out to him, but I think he's just going to lay low. He's probably got bigger and better things to do — or more relaxing things to do.

"He'll have some opportunities in TV, and maybe when the dust settles I can get him out to teach the slippery eel to Kelly [Olynyk] and Sully [Jared Sullinger] and Amir [Johnson]," Ainge added with a laugh, referring to one of his old Celtic teammate's inside moves.

McHale, Celtic legend and Hall of Famer, will undoubtedly become a hot commodity in the coaching market, based on his .556 winning percentage over four years and 11 games in Houston. But he may want a break after watching the Rockets drop their last four games in largely listless fashion — the last defeat a 111-95 collapse against the Celts on Monday.

The concept of playing hard for each other seemed foreign to them, and there is widespread opinion that with strong egos throughout the operation and a Kardashian involved, McHale is better off away.

Or as one league source from the west put it, "Kevin just gained 10 years on his life."

Another of McHale's former teammates, Rick Carlisle, is coaching the Mavericks against the Celtics tonight.

"You know, here's a guy that has such amazing integrity as a person," he said. "You watch him on the sidelines, and he walks with a limp because of the sacrifices he made to be one of the greatest champions in history.

"He loves and respects the game so much. It's surprising when something like this happens, shocking even. But he's going to be fine. He's going to get a chance to get some rest here and, who knows, probably jump on TV and have a blast doing that. And then there'll be a lot of teams wanting to hire him, because he did a fantastic job in Houston. You look at their team over the last few years; their roster was constantly in flux. He did an amazing job putting that thing together."

Brad Stevens agreed.

"First and foremost, I think we're in a business where expectations certainly drive decisions at times," said the Celt coach. "You know, I don't agree with the firing, but it's not my choice to make.

"I think that Kevin is a great coach. Kevin's been great to me. Kevin is obviously a great Celtic. People love him everywhere they've been. Everybody that you hear from loves working with him, loves being around him. So to me, from the outside looking in, it looks like 11 games in making a rash decision. But, again, it's not my call, and I'm not going to be the one that can appropriately analyze that because I'm not in there every day.

"But I send my best to Kevin and wish him nothing but the best, and he'll be coaching again when he wants to be because he's a really good coach. I can just judge on how their team did, and last year I thought that team did as well as they could have done."

This year, the Rockets had their issues. They lost their first three games, but won the next four. Then they fell to Brooklyn to begin the four-game slide that led to McHale's departure. At the end, he seemed to be questioning their commitment -- a problem that will not be fixed on any long-term basis by a coaching change.

"I don't know the whole story of what happened," said Ainge. "I don't know all of the reasons why they felt like they needed to do it now. But the bottom line is the team wasn't winning.

"I just think Kevin has been one of the most underrated coaches in the NBA the last few years. Last year I think people started noticing all the great things that Kevin did, but I still think he's one of the most overlooked coaches around."

Earlier today, Ainge put his offer where his opinion is. He is hoping McHale will eventually accept even a consulting role with the Celtics. It would at the very least make for one hellacious big man seminar.



http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/c...a_spot_for_you

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Dat Dude Chris said:

23 turnovers...8 minutes left in the 3rd

Whats the team turnover record in a game? We breaking it this season & the overall season record

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dmbrhs said:

On today's Lowe Post, Zach said with Okafor on the floor, they're the 29th or 30th in points allowed (per 100 possessions), and with him on the bench, they're #1 lol.

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rck3sactown said:

 
SAUCE CASTILLO

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rck3sactown said:

 
SAUCE CASTILLO

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The Collector said:

I said it a week ago. The commissioner and other 29 owners may have to step in and take control of the 76ers. Philadelphia isn't fielding a legit NBA roster. They literally can't compete night in and out respectfully.

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The Collector said:

I said it a week ago. The commissioner and other 29 owners may have to step in and take control of the 76ers. Philadelphia isn't fielding a legit NBA roster. They literally can't compete night in and out respectfully.

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Dat Dude Chris said:

I was against you initially saying this the first time but after seeing this game, enough is enough. I agree with you, this is disrespectful to sport & our sports fans. We dont have much to root for these days

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leemelone said:

Can waitress even dunk?

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Dat Dude Chris said:

 

The Collector said:

I said it a week ago. The commissioner and other 29 owners may have to step in and take control of the 76ers. Philadelphia isn't fielding a legit NBA roster. They literally can't compete night in and out respectfully.

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I was against you initially saying this the first time but after seeing this game, enough is enough. I agree with you, this is disrespectful to the sport & our sports fans. We dont have much to root for these days

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dmbrhs said:

It really is. It's embarrassing. Silver needs to start fining them or take away their first rounder.

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Carver said:

Nerlens and Jah cool

The rest of the roster gotta go

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Carver said:

 
Nerlens and Jah cool

The rest of the roster gotta go

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leemelone said:

So with the kings looking like they will finish with a better record than philly and stauskas looking like stauskas, that trade looks pretty insignificant, yes? Of course everything is still in flux but it's not looking good

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