Minnesota Timberwolves unveil Rick Adelman as the new head coach – NBA Update
On Wednesday, 28th September, 2011, the Minnesota Timberwolves finally made it official - Rick Adelman would be the head coach of the Twin City franchise for the next few seasons. The elderly Adelman comes in with a
wealth of experience and a history of success, but he is going to take over a franchise which has been less than impressive in the last few years.
In the last two years, under the stewardship of the now fired Kurt Rambis, the Timberwolves lost a total of 132 games. In fact, last season they were at the rock bottom of NBA, a feat that finally earned Rambis a long due exit
from his position of head coach.
The roster though isn’t one that would justify such a horrific record. The team is young, sure, but it is stacked with some real talent. Adelman revealed during his unveiling ceremony that it was that talent, which convinced him
that a job could be done at the franchise.
"I kept looking at this group and I thought, this could be a really good situation with the youth they have, the talent they have," Adelman said. "You never know what you can do and I felt it was a great challenge and so I decided
it's a good place, it's a good place to take the challenge up and try to turn things around."
Timberwolves have the league’s best rebounder in Kevin Love, a young player set to become a top NBA star of the future. They also have the raw talents of Michael Beasley, though a bit erratic, and 2011 Draft’s 2nd overall
pick, Derrick Williams. Add to it, the young Spanish point guard Ricky Rubio, and you have quite an interesting mix.
Still, General Manager David Kahn had to be very tactful when courting Adelman. The coach wasn’t exactly sure if he wanted a job so soon and Kahn has a reputation of making things difficult when they don’t have to be. So, the GM
kept a distance and let Adelman make up his mind. That was the main reason the process took such a long time to complete.
"I just felt like the last thing he needed was feeling me pressing him. He needed the opposite," Kahn said. "He needed some time alone, needed to think. Me calling every few days would've probably had a terrible affect.”
Kahn will be hoping that the veteran coach can guide his young players into a cohesive unit, which in turn can, in a year or two, get to the playoffs and regain Minnesota’s status as a major stake holder in NBA.
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