Next head coach??

[Scott K]

Quote:

Rick Adelman met with Wolves owner Glen Taylor on Tuesday but reportedly left Minnesota without an offer to coach the team, or the promise of getting one.

This was Adelman's second trip to Minneapolis in the last couple weeks, and his first meeting with Taylor. Why Adelman would want to take on such a young team with an eclectic front office group doesn't make a lot of sense, but he's obviously a candidate. But so are Sam Mitchell, Terry Porter, Don Nelson, Larry Brown and Bernie Bickerstaff.

[EBass]

I hope it's Rick Adelman, but I heard (KFAN) that since the lock out is going on there's really no rush.

[Scott K]

Quote:

Wolves assistant general manager Tony Ronzone has left the team according to Jerry Zgoda of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.

He was the face of the organization for draft workouts and preparation, and was also a key component of their international scouting efforts. This opens the door for the Wolves to hire somebody that Rick Adelman would like, such as Terry Porter, if indeed the Wolves can convince him to come on board. In related news, Kevin Love and Ricky Rubio both took to Twitter in shows of support for the hiring of Adelman.

[mrklean]

Very interestimg would be cool to get porter to

[Scott K]

Thats a lot of money! Although cash isnt going to hurt Taylor so I dont think the numbers scare him, but I think they would be crazy to allow 25 million guaranteed.

Quote:

According to Wolves beat writer Jerry Zgoda, head coach candidate Rick Adelman wants a guaranteed five-year contract at $5 million per season.

Kahn is reportedly set on hiring an experienced candidate, and Adelman's record is impressive, but $25 million is a lot for a small-market team to plunk down for a coach. Zgoda mentions that Don Nelson would likely accept a shorter deal for less money, and Sam Mitchell also remains a serious candidate for the job.

[Scott K]

Quote:

Hoopsworld.com reports that the Timberwolves are expected to sign Rick Adelman as their new head coach some time next week.

Adelman may be pushing for a five-year deal at $5 million per season, according to beat writer Jerry Zgoda. With a lifetime record of 945-616, Adelman is the eighth-winningest coach in NBA history. Assuming he is actually signed, he'll have a major challenge in turning around the Wolves, who finished last season with the worst record in the league at 17-65.

[CJH]

Report: Adelman near deal to become Timberwolves coach

Kurt Helin

Sep 10, 2011, 3:27 PM EDT

If this happens, David Kahn will have won the summer.

After having a second interview and some discussions about money, it appears that Rick Adelman is near a deal to take over as the head coach of the Minnesota Timberwolves, reports Bill Ingram at HoopsWorld.

Sources close to the situation told HOOPSWORLD that Adelman is expected to reach a contract agreement with the Timberwolves next week.

If, as reported, the choices really had come down to Adelman and Don Nelson, than this is a huge win for Minnesota. Actually, it’s a huge win any way you look at it.

Adelman has been to the playoffs 16 of the 20 years he has been a coach in the NBA and had title contenders in Portland and Sacramento. His teams play defense — something the Wolves were wretched at last season — and they run. That is the one thing they need to do with Ricky Rubio coming in, this needs to be a team that gets out in transition. Adelman’s half court “corner” offense uses a lot of the spacing principles of the triangle, so he is a good fit there.

Adelman also comes in with an established good relationship with Kevin Love. That was one of the failings of Kurt Rambis, but Adelman’s son played high school ball with Love and Love used to come over to the Adelman home.

Adelman reportedly wants $5 million a year for five years guaranteed, but if the Wolves are serious about winning that will be the toll.

If this comes together like it appears it will, Kahn will have convinced Rubio to leave Spain and come here despite the lockout, have drafted Derrick Williams No. 2 overall and gotten Adelman, a coach that can mold a lot of good young talent on the Wolves. He never should have let Rambis twist in the wind like he did, but bottom line is the Wolves will be a lot better on the court next season because of what Kahn did this summer. That’s a win.

[mrklean]

thats some big money but why not get a proven coach and the fact the guy actually wants to be here

[Scott K]

Looks like we have a new coach!

[Scott K]

Quote:

Kevin Love once again “broke” the news, tweeting not long ago this afternooon, “Houston, we have a coach.”

Neither he nor I have it confirmed completely solid, but we both believe Rick Adelman today accepted the Timberwolves coaching job.

I've heard it from one good league source, but not two independently needed to absolutely confirm the deal.

Love -- who told the world two years ago that Kevin McHale wouldn't be back as the Wolves' coach -- apparently has a slightly lower Twitter threshold.

He tweeted it, implying the Wolves have their new coach because he said he heard "rumblings" today from his contacts close to Adelman that the former Houston Rockets coach accepted the Wolves' offer.

Houston, we have a coach...get it?

"If it's true," Love said.

Yes, if it's true Love said Adelman’s presence would “absolutely” play a factor in whether he signs a contract extension with the team.

“When I talked about the prospect of me re-signing, I always said one of the things we’d have to have is a great coach,” he said. “If it’s true, we’ve got a great coach.”

Love has known Adelman since he was in junior-high school and he played high-school ball with Adelman’s son Patrick.

"We've always had a good relationship," Love said of Adelman. "Looking back to high school, I always asked myself, `What does Rick think I need to improve?' I kept asking him for advice whenver I had the chance to talk to Rick. I always thought it'd be very interesting and intriguing to play under such a well-respected coach, who I know well. who has been there and done that.

"He adds credibility to our team."

Think Love envisions himself fitting into Adelman's system, which emphasizes big men who can shoot, handle the ball and pass away from the basket.

"Yeah, like Chris Webber, Vlade (Divac), Brad Miller or any of those guys," Love said, referring to big men Adelman coached at Sacramento in the early 2000s. "That'd be perfect for me, working from the high post, being a facilitator. He has had a lot of success. He went to Houston thinking he'd have Yao (Ming) and Tracy McGrady there and he ends up coaching Aaron Brooks, (Luis) Scola and Chuck Hayes to a better than .500 record.

"He made the best of the situation there. I'd love to see what he'd do with all the very young talent we have here."

[Scott K]

This is great news for Timberwolves fans! By Adelman taking the job tells me that Taylor is committed in putting together a championship team within the lenght of his contract, or why else would he have signed here?

[CJH]

Update: It’s official, Rick Adelman is Timberwolves new coach

Kurt Helin

Sep 12, 2011, 5:45 PM EDT

UPDATE 5:45 pm: It’s official, Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune has two sources confirming what has been expected — Rick Adelman is the new head coach of the Minnesota Timberwolves. Expect and official announcement from the team soon.

That’s twice now that Kevin Love broke on twitter that the Wolves hired a new coach. The team can’t chastise him for it this time, they can’t even talk to him.

Adelman is a great fit for this team. The experience he brings to the Timberwolves will help bring along Ricky Rubio, and it will force Kevin Love to play some defense. Adelman will bring some accountability.

Now, Adelman is also a power broker in the league who has talked about wanting a front office job — did David Kahn just hire his replacement? Maybe. But now right now because Kahn has won this summer with a series of good moves. Minnesota will be better next season for what he did this summer.

3:10 pm: Two years ago, Kevin Love created a firestorm when he tweeted the news that Kevin McHale was going to be the Timberwolves coach before anybody else knew.

He may have just done it again.

We know that Rick Adelman is in talks with the Timberwolves and then Kevin Love tweeted this Monday afternoon:

Houston, we have a coach.

Is that official? Not exactly tweets Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune:

Just talked to @kevinlove and said he’s heard “rumblings” today from various sources close to Adelman that he’s the new coach.

Love is the franchise player on this team and had been consulted on the coaching search prior to the lockout. However, nobody from the team could have told him or his agent of the hire without risking the wrath of David Stern and a massive fine (there will be no contact with players is one of the lockout commandments). That said, it’s not that hard to get word out through intermediaries if someone really want to.

I want to see more confirmation, but it looks like Adelman is your new Timberwolves coach. Which I think is a great move, even if everybody doesn’t agree with that assessment.

Really like this hire!!!! A good coach is a bonus in keeping and bringing in free agents. He seems like a good fit for the personnel and the type of basketball they want to play.

[EBass]

Sweet - I think he was the best avail. I may pay attn once again - that's if there's a season.

[Scott K]

Quote:

Terry Porter is reportedly close to being hired as an assistant coach for the Timberwolves.

Porter has a history in Minnesota and would be a popular choice to help assists new coach Rick Adelman.

Looks like they are trying to build the dream team, but only on the sidelines!

[Born2Fish]

I am ALL for them trying to build a coaching dream team. Get guys in here that will get the most out of the players we have and try to get this ship turned in the right direction. Might as well get Phil Jackson in here as our player development coach too!

[mrklean]

now lets see if we have a season first then be all happy about the coaching dream team

[Scott K]

I think if the Wolves pick up a good center, we could be a competitive team. I am a little skeptical about the PG position, but Ricky is a ball handler, and he is good at defense, which in my book is the main priority of the PG position. If we can get him to drive the lane a bit to open the outside shots up, we wont need him to shoot from the outside at all. We have some good shooters on the team already, so the lack of points from Ricky shouldnt bother us much. I have seen many videos of Ricky taking outside shots during practice, and he hits pretty much all of his shots, so he is capable, he just cant do it with someone blocking him, in which should be able to be coached, since it is a mental thing.

It sounds like they are getting close to a deal, and both sides want to save the season, I think by early next week they will have a deal in place. I cant wait! This is the most I have been excited about the Wolves in along time! Although, I usually am optimistic about them every year, but this year we have somethings to be excited about.

New, and proven good coaches, Williams, Rubio, a sleeker Love, with a line up of some pretty darn good forwards and gaurds. We also have some good bench players now as well, as we are deep on a few positions.

[Born2Fish]

I also think that this team is starting to look exciting. Not that I really expect anything great this year(hopefully this year happens), but the team is young and hopefully hungry after all the losing they have done in the past. Getting a great coach in here is a blessing and I truly hope the players rally around the fact that they have a proven winner here coaching them. We have the pieces in place, now they just have to get to work and get it done.

[Scott K]

Quote:

Terry Porter joining new coach Rick Adelman's staff with Timberwolves

Pioneer Press

Updated: 10/07/2011 12:12:15 AM CDT

The Timberwolves won't be hiring any of new coach Rick Adelman's assistants until the NBA lockout is resolved. But when it is, former Wolves guard Terry Porter will be among them.

Porter, 48, who coached the Milwaukee Bucks and Phoenix Suns, played for Adelman for six seasons with the Portland Trail Blazers. He also interviewed for the Wolves' head coaching job.

[mrklean]

great hire i was always a fan of Porter i think they should do good with all the young guns we have

[Born2Fish]

At least they are trying to put together something. Get that coaching staff in place and then teach these kids how to play basketball the right way. I sure hope they can turn it around.

[Scott K]

Quote:

Porter joins Adelmans staff with Wolves

Found 11 minutes ago on Fox Sports North:

PLAYERS: Rick Adelman, Jack Sikma, T.R. Dunn, R.J. Adelman

TEAMS: Minnesota Timberwolves, Seton Hall Pirates

MINNEAPOLIS With the start of training camp just two days away, time had been running out for new Minnesota Timberwolves coach Rick Adelman to assemble his staff. On Wednesday, Adelman took care of that problem, adding a two-time former NBA head coach in Terry Porter and a total of more than 160 years of coaching and playing experience to his bench. Joining Porter will be Jack Sikma, T.R. Dunn and Bill Bayno. The team also announced that R.J. Adelman will be director of player personnelgame preparation. Shawn Respert and David Adelman were hired as player development coaches, and Pat Zipfel will be the teams new advance scout. "I'm excited to be able to add such a wealth of experience and talent to our coaching staff," Rick Adelman said in a statement. "I have worked with Terry and T.R. for many years, with Jack for the past four seasons, and have known Bill for many years. Each of them brings valuable coaching experience and a vast knowledge of the game to our staff." Porter, who played for Adelman with Portland in the late 1980s and early 1990s, was also an assistant coach for Adelman with Sacramento in 2002. Since that time, he has had head coaching stints with Milwaukee (2003-05) and Phoenix (2008-09). Porter played for the Timberwolves from 1995-98 and retired as a player in 2002. Sikma spent the past four seasons working on Adelmans staff in Houston. Sikma, whose 14-year playing career ended in 1991, got his start on the bench as a special assignments coach for Seattle in 2003-04. Dunn also worked with Adelman for the past four seasons in Houston. Before that, he was a Sacramento assistant from 2004-07, working with Adelman for two of those seasons. His 14-year playing career also ended in 1991, and he began his coaching career the next season as an assistant for the Charlotte Hornets. Bayno has spent the previous five seasons on the Portland coaching staff. Prior to taking jobs as a professional assistant, he was the head coach at UNLV from 1995-2000. He began his college assistant coaching career in 1985 at Seton Hall. R.J. Adelman spent the past four years on his fathers staff in Houston. He will be involved with evaluating players throughout the NBA, working with the coaching staff on game preparation and planning and overseeing the team's statistical evaluation and analysis. Adelman will also oversee the team's advance scouts and video department. Respert, who played in the NBA from 1995-99, spent the past three seasons as the Rockets director of player programs. David Adelman, another of Ricks sons, is entering his first year with the Timberwolves after spending the past five seasons as head basketball coach at Lincoln High School in Portland, Ore. Zipfel has been a Rockets advance scout since 2007

[Scott K]

Looks like we have the "Dream team" of coaches. I would have never envisioned our staff to be what it is today, a year ago.

[Born2Fish]

Sounds good to me. This is a very good step in the right direction. I really hope they can take this young team and turn it into something special. The talent is here, lets just hope they can get the most out of it.

[Scott K]

It sure would have been nice to have a full training camp, along with a full preseason schedule to get the young players familiar to the new system