Stepping away from a 23-year NBA career that included 1,042 games won, Timberwolves coach Rick Adelman formally announced his retirement Monday morning, setting in motion the search for the franchise’s 11th coach.It's tough to turn around a team with 25 years of dysfunction. Adelman gave it a shot, but his wife's health issues and his own advancing age were both pretty significant barriers to success. Meanwhile, Flip Saunders has a search to do:
“You know, it’s time,” he said in ending three seasons on the job, none of which ended up taking the Wolves back to the playoffs for the first time since 2004. “I wish I could have done more, but I enjoyed my time.”
Team President of Basketball Operations Flip Saunders vowed an “extensive” and secretive search in which he would prefer a candidate with substantial head coaching experience, preferably in the NBA. He said he wants to find a successor who would bring a similar kind of offensive identity Adelman lent the franchise and used such qualities as “demanding,” “adaptable” and “flexibility” he will seeks in a coach.I really hope that Flip doesn't do his search by looking in the mirror. It would be a mistake. Some of the names that are floating around -- Fred Hoiberg, Tom Izzo, Billy Donovan -- are pretty unlikely. I've also heard that they might consider bringing in a random Van Gundy to do the job. Given the history of this franchise, they'd be likely to get Shemp Van Gundy, so maybe that's not the answer.
He also once again refused to rule himself out as a possibility, even as he pledged to use his vast network of coaches to search “in a lot of places” for that new coach.
When in doubt, poll it:
2 comments:
Well, I don't think the franchise's problems are going to be erased by a new coach. Adelman seemed fairly disinterested in the job this season, even from the start when the expectations were the Wolves would at least make the playoffs as a low seed.
Love is out the door, and while I can picture Saunders trying to encourage Love to stay by giving him an outsized role in selecting the next coach, Love wants a major market and a franchise that looks more competitive. I could argue that such a criteria is going to be hard to find unless Love is willing to accept less money and less stature (the Western Conference is loaded with young, talented rosters and the East is dominated by the Heat & Pacers). But I think Love would prefer being viewed as the junior leader on a franchise that's winning than "The Man" on a team that will be lucky to get into the first-round of the playoffs, let alone make a run.
Take Love away from this roster and you'll be hard put to find their identity. Worse, while they have talent, it's not good enough in an ultra-talented West. Other than Love, the Wolves don't have an elite talent at any position...even if they don't have terrible talent among their starters either. So you run the risk of trading above-average to occasionally good players like Rubio or Peck, on the hope that you'll land a dynamic player in the draft or free agency. That's a heck of a gamble for a franchise that desperately needs marketable players and wins.
I think Love would prefer being viewed as the junior leader on a franchise that's winning than "The Man" on a team that will be lucky to get into the first-round of the playoffs, let alone make a run.
I agree completely, FR. And I suspect you're right about how this is going to play out. The one thing that would change things is if, for once, the ping pong balls fell the Wolves' way, although that never happens.
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