- Top Features:
- War Room
- Glenn Greenwald
- Broadsheet
- Joan Walsh
- Camille Paglia
- Since You Asked
- Follow Salon:
Read other letters about this article
Admittedly, the Kings' problems are deeper than their coach. Losing Chris Webber, Peja Stojakovic, and Bobby Jackson (among others) leaves them as one of the less talented teams in the West. However, both the Trailblazers of the late 80s and the Kings of the early 2000s had two things in common: both teams were loaded for bear, and both consistently came up short in the playoffs. (And the Warriors... well, they've shown the ability to stink with any coach... why pay more for a coach of Adelman's pedigree?)
Both teams consistently lost the close games. Whether it was a lack of clutch shooters in the Kings' case or the ability of the Blazers to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, those problems ultimately have to lie with Adelman.
In the past, King, you've bemoaned the fact that the coaching fraternity in the NBA has remained closed to minority candidates. However, Rick Adelman is one of a number of title-less coaches (such as George Karl and Mike Dunleavy, to name a couple more) whose perpetual employment is at the cost of these same candidates.
