EL SEGUNDO, Calif. -- The Los Angeles D-Fenders filled their coaching vacancy Monday, announcing the hiring of former Sacramento Kings head coach Reggie Theus.

He replaces Eric Musselman, who guided the team to a 38-12 record and was named the National Basketball Development League's Coach of the Year. Musselman is now an assistant coach at Arizona State.

"We are pleased to welcome Reggie Theus to the D-Fenders," team President/CEO Joey Buss said in a statement. "Reggie's extensive NBA background, coupled with his experience developing players at the collegiate basketball level, will make him a great asset to our franchise."

Theus, a Los Angeles native, said the opportunity to work at home was a major draw to the job.

"My mom is 89 years old. I have a son that's a senior at Fairfax High School, and a daughter that's a freshman at Redondo Union, and one that just graduated from UC Irvine. So for me to be home with family is very important at this point in my career," he said.

"The opportunity to work for the D-Fenders in an area of basketball that's about developing is really exciting. You really do have a hand in their future. I was a college coach, so it sort of falls in line with developing young players. I was an AAU coach, so that falls in line with development of young players. So I'm excited about the opportunity."

Theus spent two seasons as the head coach at new Mexico State University, leading the Aggies to a 25-9 record in 2006-07 and a berth in the NCAA Tournament.

At two-time NBA All-Star, Theus was selected by Chicago with the ninth pick in the 1978 NBA Draft, and played 13 seasons for the Bulls, Kansas City/Sacramento Kings, Atlanta Hawks, Orlando Magic and New Jersey Nets. He is one of only seven players in NBA history to score more than 19,000 points while recording more than 6,000 assists.

The NBDL Draft is expected to take place early next month.