Report: Kevin McHale emerges as candidate for Kings’ head coaching job

The Sacramento Kings’ quest to fill their head coaching vacancy has officially gone up and under.

According to a report by Marc Stein of ESPN on Monday, former Rockets head coach Kevin McHale’s interest in the Kings’ coaching job has advanced from exploratory talks to his emergence on the list of known candidates for the position.

McHale, 58, has a career record of 232-185 (.556) as a head coach. He is just one year removed from leading Houston to the No. 2 seed in the West and a berth in the Conference Finals. McHale was fired in November, however, after a 4-7 start to the Rockets’ 2015-16 season.

While other candidates such as Luke Walton and Mike Woodson are poised to compete for the job, with reports saying that the Kings are unlikely to attract high-profile names to the position, McHale represents an ideal middle ground. Though he won’t knock your socks off as an X’s and O’s coach, McHale managed to lead a wacky Rockets team full of egos and prima donnas to stunning success, making him about as ideal of an option as you’re going to find for Sacramento.