The case for Rick Adelman as Warriors coach

by RayAlmeda on Apr 19, 2011 1:28 AM PDT

Is Rick Adelman the best coaching option should the Warriors fire Smart?

As you know, Rick Adelman, former 2nd place in coach of the year voting FOUR times was fired today by the Houston Rockets. Some disagreement with the owner is what early reports suggest.

I think every Warriors fan is cringing here, but I really want Adelman back as coach.

1.) He's a defensive minded coach that also knows a lot of offensive schemes. I always thought he ran the 2-3 and 3-2 zones very well in Houston and he always found a way to get a high turnover rate when he was running the Kings.

Basically, he gameplans very well, especially against star players (he did his best to contain Shaq... give him credit). And he's been there. Yes he's old (64), but we really need experience to move the "maturity needle" (If you want to call it that) for a lot of our youngsters. Adelman's likeability and playoff experience is even more intangibles that sweeten the melting pot.

2.) He's a winner. In his 20 seasons as head coach, 17 of them were winning records. Heck the only 3 that were losing ones was his rookie season in which he coached 35 games and, ironically, his two seasons coaching the Warriors in 95 and 96.

3.) He brings mystique to a team that needs it. He's lost to the Pistons and Bulls in the 90 and 92 finals respectively and lost to the Lakers in the 2002 Western Conference finals in what I thought was the biggest tragedy in California NBA history . If there's a coach that still wants to be in the NBA, it's also for that one goal, an NBA championship. I mean karma has to help the guy after he had Tracy McGrady, Chris Webber, Yao Ming injuries all prevent him from going that next step. Let's not forget he's from California as well (Loyola Marymount).

*4.) Bonus reason: I want Luis Scola. Whatever it takes, I'd love to have his tenacity on this team. Of course, Scola isn't close to my hopes for DeAndre Jordan or Marc Gasol, but does a good job in making space in the post, rebounding, and scoring even when the play isn't call for him. It's a player coach relationship that could give be enough to give him looks by Myers and Riley.

Voice your opinions below. Hopefully the Warriors front office is listening... anybody... anybody?

Poll

Would you want Rick Adelman back as coach?

HELL Yes - He'd be a great fit!

175 votes

Maybe - I'm still sticking with Smart or other options

46 votes

No No NO - He's too old and we want someone younger

38 votes

259 votes | Poll has closed

This FanPost is a submission from a member of the mighty Golden State of Mind community. While we're all here to throw up that W, these words do not necessarily reflect the views of the GSoM Crew. Still, chances are the preceding post is Unstoppable Baby!

Tweet Comment 41 comments | 0 recs |

Do you like this story?

Comments

I really want to strive high in a head coach, and we know Adelman's not a great coach or anything.

Best to strive for the best.

"Of course, these people couldn’t really have predicted...the joke of a mockery of a sham of a circus of Keith Smart’s nightly rotations. " - Sleepy Freud
Steph Curry and Reggie Williams all day baby!

by GovernorStephCurry on Apr 19, 2011 1:48 AM PDT reply actions

Which coach do you think the Warriors should pursue Gov?

I personally would go after Spurs assistant Mike Budenholzer. This is because there is little chance he’s as bad as Smart considering he’s been part of the Spurs since the 90’s and they have won consistently ever since they drafted Duncan. However, I do not know anything about his actual coaching philosophy, but you would like to think it would be based off of Popovich’s coaching (which is a good thing).

by Warriors Fanatic on Apr 19, 2011 2:16 PM PDT up reply actions

Apparently Budenholzer isn't that great at communicating with players.

But is a great tactical guy. I’m on the fence. I’m really not sure about him.

by GovernorStephCurry on Apr 19, 2011 2:39 PM PDT up reply actions

Can you source this?

I know Pop loves him…

by tafkasam on Apr 19, 2011 3:42 PM PDT up reply actions

That's what Kirk Lacob told me.

by GovernorStephCurry on Apr 19, 2011 3:48 PM PDT up reply actions

Got any other ideas on coaching names?

by tafkasam on Apr 19, 2011 3:50 PM PDT up reply actions

Me?

I like Budenholzer. Like i said, i’m not sure. I would like to go outside the box a little bit. I hear the coach from Prokohov’s old team is an assistant for the Nets. Why not him maybe? Ron Adams should be a candidate. If Mike D is fired in New York, him for sure.

by GovernorStephCurry on Apr 19, 2011 4:23 PM PDT up reply actions

I would flip if we got D'Antoni

Wanna feel real torture? Try being a Warrior fan.

by luvmydubz23 on Apr 19, 2011 7:45 PM PDT up reply actions

I dunno.

I haven’t watched the Knicks a lot this year, but they seem to be very poorly coached – the end of game 1 was really really ugly. The players had no clue what to do in a crunch-time situation.

by Ronaldinho on Apr 19, 2011 7:53 PM PDT up reply actions

Why do you say they are poorly coached?

He has a roster full of misfits that don’t match his system. Before the Melo trade i’d say he had done a good job.

by GovernorStephCurry on Apr 19, 2011 8:06 PM PDT up reply actions

He's done a good job

But on some level, I’m opposed. I want someone who runs a more normal system with defensive accountability. Someone from Spurs, Celtics organizations etc.

On the flip side, I love D’antoni’s style, and we know how highly he thinks of Curry. Behind Nellie he’d be one of best coaches for Curry offensively. But again the D….

by tafkasam on Apr 19, 2011 9:51 PM PDT up reply actions

In my mind, a well-coached team knows how to handle not having TOs in that situation.

Maybe he gets a pass because he’s only had one of his key players for a few months, but really, that was ugly. Guys bunched up, everybody looking around like they had no clue.

The well coached team runs down and runs a play without the coach having to draw it up for them.

by Ronaldinho on Apr 19, 2011 10:22 PM PDT up reply actions

Not giving Boston enough credit

Melo made a horrible decision first and foremost.

But Boston plays by far the best defense in the NBA. Particularly closing out games. They are veteran and know how to do it.

My problem with D’Antoni is, while I love his style, it’d be like reverting back to Nellie. Maybe it’s time to consider bringing in a conventional coach and getting this team to stop being a gimmick and play defense. Curry would thrive offensively under d’antoni (we know how much he wanted him) but his defense would get worse. He’d have no incentive to fix his game there. Monta would likely take more poor shots, because 7 seconds or less offense breeds it.

I’d like to see someone from a culture of team play and winning where individual stats don’t matter. San Antonio, Boston, etc. Places where they focus on sharing the ball and winning.

by tafkasam on Apr 20, 2011 8:44 AM PDT up reply actions

In that instance, I don't know if you can credit Boston's defense.

I agree with you that, overall, that’s been a big factor.

But at the end of game one, the Knicks just looked clueless. It wasn’t just Carmelo being dumb – although that’s a part of it – it’s that the rest of the players just sort of stood around and waited. The reality is that Carmelo didn’t have much of a choice, given that he didn’t have anyone screening for him, didn’t have movement to create chaos, and had multiple people between him and the basket.

by Ronaldinho on Apr 20, 2011 9:50 AM PDT up reply actions

Melo made a horrible decision first and foremost.

What was the ‘horrible decision’?

by RIAS on Apr 21, 2011 2:41 PM PDT up reply actions

Down 2 with 11 seconds left, dribbled out the clock for a fadeaway 3.

by GovernorStephCurry on Apr 23, 2011 11:20 AM PDT up reply actions

yes, Lawerence Frank.

by GSkush on Apr 19, 2011 10:02 PM PDT via mobile up reply actions

Adelman + David Lee could be interesting

Still, I’m not ready to pull trigger on the first option that pops up, just because it’s available. Desperation’s a stinky cologne. Also, I didn’t really pay enough attention to Houston this season, so I can’t really be sure of how good he still is. He definitely made due with some questionable pieces (Scola particularly) and with the Yao injury.

Cut and paste.

by Butterknuckles on Apr 19, 2011 2:04 AM PDT reply actions

I like Adelman but I don't know if he is a good fit for the warriors.

by GSkush on Apr 19, 2011 5:11 AM PDT via mobile up reply actions

How many times have Adleman teams outperformed their talent level?

If anything, his Portland teams were widely seen as underperforming their talent level.

by Ronaldinho on Apr 19, 2011 10:24 AM PDT reply actions

Almost all his houston teams?

by tafkasam on Apr 19, 2011 12:21 PM PDT up reply actions

NO...

Why did Houston get rid of him? He is a name only.

Our team needs a coach to grow with. I think that can happen with Smart.
If not Smart, then a diamond in the rough like Monty Williams!

by deja8 on Apr 19, 2011 11:39 AM PDT reply actions

Adelman is unlikely to go here, and we may not want him...

Found a few interesting tidbits about why Adelman was let go by the Rockets from this article from Sbnation.com: http://www.sbnation.com/nba/2011/4/19/2120531/rick-adelman-houston-rockets-coach

“It appears he wasn’t totally on board with the Rockets’ rebuilding process”
“But that sort of proves the point. Rick Adelman made the most out of Houston’s incomplete rosters the past few years, and ultimately, if you listen to the voices coming out of Houston, he’s gone now because he refused to NOT make the most out of them. Rather than develop someone like Hasheem Thabeet, he preferred to go with guys that gave Houston a shot at the playoffs.”

So it sounds like basically that the owner wanted to rebuild Houston from the ground up because "The Rockets found themselves stuck in neutral two years ago [by being] [a] mediocre team with no hopes of winning either a Championship of the lottery. ". Gee, doesn’t this sound familiar with our situation in some aspects? We are sort of in that dead zone right now where we don’t have a roster to contend for a championship, yet we can’t get top 5 lottery picks.

If Adelman is going to not play Udoh, or whoever we draft and is going to do anything it takes to get to the playoffs, do we want this strategy? I think Adelman could get us to the playoffs, but is that what we want? Or do we want instead to develop our young players and not worry so much about making the playoffs? Personally, Adelman might feel similar to Nellie in terms of not playing rookies and maximizing the roster’s potential to have a chance to get to the playoffs. But I want to play our rookie and Udoh and not leave them out because of a push for playoffs. The Warriors need to find a better balance between playing rookies and playing our players reasonable minutes (Monta doing 40 plus every night isn’t ideal) while still trying to WIN. I don’t think Adelman would solve this issue, so perhaps we should look elsewhere for our head coach…

by Warriors Fanatic on Apr 19, 2011 1:42 PM PDT reply actions

I completely agree

(although he might play Udoh, if he wants to win more, not less)

_______________________________________________________________
The City: A Golden State Warriors-Centric NBA Blog

"It’s not all about stats…you’ve probably never played basketball in your life. There are things called intangibles. He is what you call a winner. Led his team to a national title. We need people who know how to win. He obviously has to be doing something right." (dhod)

by Evanz on Apr 19, 2011 2:07 PM PDT up reply actions

The problem is that Rick Adelman is not the kind of coach that meshes well with a rebuilding project. In short, Adelman does not like playing inexperienced players. Ever. Conflict was inevitable.

No thanks. Not what we need right now.

_______________________________________________________________
The City: A Golden State Warriors-Centric NBA Blog

by Evanz on Apr 19, 2011 2:09 PM PDT reply actions

We don't have any inexperienced players besides Udoh and Lin.

by GovernorStephCurry on Apr 19, 2011 2:37 PM PDT up reply actions

he might consider Curry inexperienced

apparently, he though Lowry was and Budinger

_______________________________________________________________
The City: A Golden State Warriors-Centric NBA Blog

by Evanz on Apr 19, 2011 2:54 PM PDT up reply actions

Lowry's a stud, and is in his 5th year in the league...

by GovernorStephCurry on Apr 19, 2011 3:21 PM PDT up reply actions

I'm not disagreeing

but he didn’t get a lot of pt in Houston until Brooks was traded

_______________________________________________________________
The City: A Golden State Warriors-Centric NBA Blog

by Evanz on Apr 19, 2011 3:40 PM PDT up reply actions

Nope

He was Brooks’ primary backup, and when Brooks became injured, he lost his starting job to Lowry and was eventually traded to Phoenix.

There’s no one on this current roster that’s inexperienced. Lin got plenty of it in the D-League and Udoh got it when Beans went down.

by David Leezy on Apr 19, 2011 5:20 PM PDT up reply actions

There’s no one on this current roster that’s inexperienced.

See, the issue is your definition of inexperienced is probably different from Adelman’s.

_______________________________________________________________
The City: A Golden State Warriors-Centric NBA Blog

by Evanz on Apr 20, 2011 3:58 AM PDT up reply actions

Chase Budinger

2nd year player – Eventual starter

by David Leezy on Apr 22, 2011 12:40 AM PDT up reply actions

don’t worry, Adelman isn’t coming. he all but stated that he wants to coach a contender from his exit interview.

i don’t know if this other tidbit is true, but when he was in Sac i read that he was harshly booed during his time with the Warriors… and that he remembers.

by homer simpson on Apr 19, 2011 3:15 PM PDT reply actions

I could see Adelman coaching the Knicks.. once they fire D’antoni.

by GSkush on Apr 19, 2011 10:04 PM PDT via mobile up reply actions

once/if

by GSkush on Apr 20, 2011 12:19 AM PDT via mobile up reply actions

Yeah!

Then we can hire PJ Carlesimo again. Then maybe Gary St. Jean (he’s already on the payroll).

Livin in the E

by ebot on Apr 20, 2011 1:19 AM PDT reply actions

This is weak snark

Adelman is loads better than those guys.

by BoogD on Apr 20, 2011 11:23 PM PDT up reply actions

another poll option

Maybe – preferred over Smart, but there may be better options.

Super Bowl XXIV: 49ers 55 - Broncos 10

by bonbrillio on Apr 21, 2011 5:36 PM PDT reply actions

according to the local scribe Jenkins

at the Chronicle/sfgate, one reason Adelman got chopped was the Hou front office’s increased use of extensive stat analysis for talent eval, and that clashed with the coach’s old-school preferences. If that’s accurate, would Chairman Joe and all the fan/savants here still consider him seriously ?

Music is the Healing Force of the Universe (a.ayler)

by the.monk on Apr 25, 2011 10:56 AM PDT reply actions

No.

But apparently they are seriously considering bringing back Keith Smart, who we know hates statistical analysis.

by GovernorStephCurry on Apr 25, 2011 11:06 AM PDT up reply actions

According to who?

Not to put too fine a point on it, but J-Ridah is now in a point where he can say, “See, I called it!” whether Smart comes back or if he’s fired for that SA assistant.

Which, when you think about it, is a pretty neat trick. :)

by Ronaldinho on Apr 25, 2011 12:23 PM PDT up reply actions