Los Angeles Lakers have Rick Adelman on their radar: NBA Update
Ever since Phil Jackson decided to hand his boots, several names have cropped up as the potential replacements for Hall of Fame coach. Among those being considered, the 64-year-old former Houston Rockets coach Rick Adelman stands
out.
Although Brian Shaw, the Los Angeles Lakers assistant coach is regarded as the strongest in-house candidate and also has the public endorsement of the All-Star Kobe Bryant, however several sources indicate that the team officials
are heavily inclined in Ricks’ favour for this job.
Adelman’s history of success at Portland Trail Blazers, Sacramento Kings and Houston Rockets is not the only reason of Lakers’ interest. Rather, his reputation for doing well with the veteran teams and the similarity between Jackson’s
triangle offense style of play and his corner offense is what makes him the most suitable option at the moment.
The three people, who will make the all important decision, are Jerry Buss, Jim Buss and the general manager Mitch Kupchak. The decision is all the more important at the juncture as the Lakers are looking to rebuild after being
swept by the Dallas Mavericks in the Western Conference Semifinals. Touching on the subject Mitch Kupchak said.
"We'd like to be deliberate. In Los Angeles, typically we hire coaches and they stick with us for a long time and hopefully win championships. So we'll take our time in making that decision."
The veteran coach Adelman has been quite successful leading every team except the Golden State Warriors to the playoffs. In the last 20 year, he has proved himself to be one of the best in the business. With a tremendous track
record of 945 wins, Adelman is ranked eighth on the National Basketball Association’s all-time regular season victories.
Ricks’ best tenure came along with the Portland Trail Blazers, who stormed into the NBA finals twice and Conference finals once in the nineties. He powered Sacramento Kings to the 2002 Conference finals against the Los Angeles
Lakers and took the series to the seven games. Last year, the influential coach guided the depleted Houston Rockets to seven games in the Western Conference semi-finals against Lakers.
In the 19 full coaching seasons, Rick has been to the post-season fifteen times. Even though Adelman has never won a championship in his career, with the kind of experience and talent he possess, Rick appears to be the best fit
for Lakers as compared with the other available choices like Jerry Sloan, Larry Brown and Stan Van Gundy.
Rockets’ former coach has also shown that he does not need a completely healthy squad to demonstrate his brilliance. During the four seasons with the injury-plagued Houston Rockets, Adelman posted a winning percentage of 0.588
with a record of 193 victories. If a coach of such calibre ultimately joins the Lakers, there is no doubt that he can spur the team to perform at their best.
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