Houston Rockets name Greg Buckner new player development coach

Posted: July 29, 2011 -- 1:21pm CDT.

The Houston Rockets have announced Greg Buckner has been hired as new player development coach.

The Houston Chronicle's Jonathan Feigen first reported the hire on July 27.

Rockets head coach Kevin McHale said, “Greg is going to handle player development for us. He came up the hard way, really worked his way around the league. Greg is just a really good, blue-collar guy who understands the league. We are excited to have him on the staff.”

Buckner joins the Rockets after a successful 10-year playing career in the NBA.

Selected by Dallas in the second round (53rd overall) of the 1998 NBA Draft, Buckner averaged 5.0 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 570 career games (117 starts) with the Mavericks, Philadelphia 76ers, Denver Nuggets, Minnesota Timberwolves and Memphis Grizzlies.

Buckner was also regarded as an outstanding defensive player over his career. His teams reached the postseason in six of his 10 NBA seasons. Overall, he averaged 4.1 points and 2.6 rebounds in 38 career playoff games.

CLICK HERE for The HRR's Rockets' write-ups.