|
 Adelman, who ranks eighth in wins on the National Basketball
Association all-time list and twice took teams to the NBA Finals,
will remain with the Wolves as a consultant.
"I think it's time for me to step aside," said Adelman, 67. "When I
came here, we really tried to see if we could turn some things
around and we made some strides.
"We're not that far away. But I'm ready and my wife's ready to move
on to another phase. We're looking forward to that."
Adelman, who was named head coach of the Timberwolves ahead of the
2011-12 season, took over a team that had won 15 and 17 games the
prior two seasons. He steered them to 26, 31 and 40 victories over
the next three campaigns and has a career record of 1,042-749.
"Coach Adelman is truly one of the greatest coaches in our game's
history, and he has helped restore credibility and respectability to
the Timberwolves franchise through what he stands for both on and
off the court," said Timberwolves President of Basketball Operations
Flip Saunders.
Adelman served as head coach of five NBA teams: Portland (1988-94),
Golden State (1995-97), Sacramento (1998-2006), Houston (2007-11)
and Minnesota (2011-2014).
He reached the NBA Finals in 1990 and 1992 with Portland, took his
teams to four Western Conference finals and won four division
titles.
[to top of second column] |
"Rick Adelman established himself as one of our game's great
coaches, manning the NBA sidelines for the better part of a quarter
century," NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement.
Adelman's teams reached the NBA playoffs in 16 of his 23 coaching
seasons and his trademark offenses finished among the top five in
the NBA in scoring 14 times.
A former guard, Adelman played seven seasons in the NBA with the San
Diego Rockets, Portland Trail Blazers, Chicago Bulls, New Orleans
Jazz and Kansas City-Omaha Kings.
(Reporting by Larry Fine in New York; editing by Frank Pingue)
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