Well, it certainly would appear unlikely that Rick Adelman will be patrolling the sidelines for the Rockets next season according to every speck of available recent evidence.
After Fran Blinebury of NBA.com speculated that Rick Adelman would likely leave last Tuesday, spurring an excellent Dream Shake post on the topic, Marc Spears of Yahoo! is reporting that multiple league sources think the two sides will split as well:
Adelman and owner Les Alexander don't exactly see eye-to-eye. The veteran coach also could be attracted to a possible opening on another team that would offer him a better chance to win.
The Rockets want their coach to play their young players and embrace their creativity in the free-agent market, which doesn't sound like a team adamant about winning immediately. Adelman, who turns 65 on June 16, was in the last year of his contract this season. Injuries to Yao Ming - and Tracy McGrady in past seasons - prevented him from ever coaching the roster he envisioned he'd have in Houston.
If this is the end for Adelman, there will be no shortage of qualified replacements on the market this offseason. Spears mentions the possibility of ex-Cavaliers coach Mike Brown, last seen running the same isolation play for LeBron James for every offensive possession, as a possibility. He also thinks the Rockets could keep it in-house with top assistant Elston Turner.
Meanwhile, Blinebury mentions Mike Budenholzer, a Spurs assistant who is widely credited with helping them improve their defensive prowess. Sacramento Kings blog (for the moment) Sactown Royalty had a thorough breakdown of Budenholzer's achievements so far.