The Los Angeles Times reports Friday night that the Lakers have reached out to Rick Adelman about their vacant coaching position in the wake of Phil Jackson’s imminent and assumed retirement. The move comes after word broke last week regarding the Lakers’ interest in Adelman. There’s no indication at the moment if the interest is mutual.
The Times also confirms that the Lakers are “adamantly opposed” to any price that would be attached to pursuing a current head coach in the league, ruling out former assistant Kurt Rambis, former player Byron Scott, and Nate McMillan from consideration.
Adelman makes the most sense for the Lakers. He’s the highest profile coach on the market outside of Jerry Sloan, who the Lakers could not survive in terms of discipline (nor could Sloan survive the L.A. drama), and Adelman’s long-standing experience and reputation for working with veterans would fit well with the current roster of Laker championship-caliber players. His offense is at least vaguely reminiscent of the Triangle, and he doesn’t come with any flaming red flags to throw a spike in the gears.
For fans of Adelman from his time in Portland, Sacramento, and Houston, Adelman joining and/or winning a ring with the Lakers would be a severe twist of the knife after years of watching him battle the higher-paying, bigger market behemoth and lose time and time again. But Adelman surely deserves a shot at a championship roster, and this provides him his best chance at winning a title before his ride into the sunset down the road. It seems like a perfect fit. The only question left is if Lakers’ management will be willing to pony up what it takes to secure his services and if Adelman has any interest in nice weather, palm trees and lots and lots of money.
The Times reports that the Lakers are not expected to rush the decision, with the final call possibly not coming until June. Assistant coach Brian Shaw remains on the list of candidates despite his possible interviews with Golden State and elsewhere. The drama continues in Hollywood.