Kevin McHale, a Hibbing native and former Minnesota Timberwolves head coach and general manager, will be the next head coach of the Houston Rockets according to Yahoo! Sports Adrian Wojnarowski.

If that's not interesting enough, he beat out former Wolves head coach Dwane Casey -- currently an assistant with the Dallas Mavericks -- after firing him for beginning the 2006-07 NBA season with a 20-20 record and a roster that included Justin Reed, Bracey Wright and 81 starts for the immortal Mark Blount.

The Minnesota connection stays strong in this story, too, as McHale's top assistant is expected to be current Memphis Grizzlies assistant coach Dave Joerger. Joerger, who has been mentioned quite a bit as one of the up-and-coming NBA assistants, graduated from Moorhead State after growing up in Staples, Minn.

Interestingly enough, both Casey and Joerger would have been two candidates I'd have been interested in for the Wolves if Kurt Rambis is ever fired.