I was hoping Jerry Buss and the Lakers would've tabbed Rick Adelman as their next coach. Now, I hate the Lakers as much as the next non-Los Angelite(?), but I would've liked to see Adelman win a ring.
↵Err, I would've liked to see him get a legitimate opportunity to win a ring.
↵Adelman did an overwhelming job in Houston. So it's a little disappointing to see the Lakers give the job to a man that had, and face planted in, his chance to get a ring.
↵Adelman did an excellent job in Houston despite the shortcomings that was this team's roster. He came to Houston with the notion that he would be coaching Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming. But he was forced to deal with Chuck Hayes and Luis Scola instead.
↵He took a lottery team and turned them into playoff contenders. Under Adelman's savvy offensive scheme, the Rockets averaged the most assists in the league. They averaged 106 points per game--good for third in the league. Adelman turned the Rockets into a good, scrappy team.
↵He got the Rockets' players to give 110% every night, and I'm not so sure how many coaches can get that type of effort from a non-playoff team. So, no, the Rockets shortcomings were not thanks to Adelman. Houstonians know that. Rockets fans know that. And anyone that really knows anything about basketball knows that.
↵I'm sure Mike Brown will be a fine head coach. He may win them a ring. He may not. He specializes in defense, so maybe the Lakers tabbed the right guy. But there's that one constant thought in the back of everyone's mind: he couldn't do it with LeBron.
↵I'm not saying that LeBron is better than Kobe or that having Lebron James is a cakewalk to a ring. But I wonder what Adelman could've thought up with Lebron on his roster. And I wish I could've seen what Adelman would've done with the likes of the Lakers' roster.