With the Rockets season all but over, now comes the time to think about the upcoming offseason. Oh wait, there's going to be a lockout.
Well, we can still think about the coaching staff, right? Rockets owner Les Alexander and head coach Rick Adelman reportedly don't have much mutual trust in each other, as was hinted at a few times last season. Adelman did do a masterful job in coaching the team back into the playoff race, but will he be back next season? The Dream Shake's (and ex-SB Nation Houston managing editor) Tom Martin delved into the question:
In context, the Rockets have been quite good under Daryl Morey and Rick Adelman. The team has outperformed the level of healthy and available roster talent for the majority of each's tenure. No question, for the past two battered Rockets teams to finish above .500 is an accomplishment. The year prior, the Rockets - again undermanned - took the Laker juggernaut to seven games in the second round of the playoffs.
Unless you're one of those ignorant "results are results" types who fails to look deep into the REAL reasons why, perhaps, those results weren't achieved (i.e. terrible, awful, incomprehensible-unless-you-live-in-Portland injury woes), you should root for Rick Adelman and Daryl Morey to stick around.
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I think the Rockets hold Morey, but I would be slightly surprised if Adelman chose to stay. As I've written before, whether or not they choose to admit it, the Rockets are in a rebuilding mode.
I'm at a crossroads about Adelman. I think the main question to ask is just what the ultimate goal of this team is going to be in the near future. If Daryl Morey has enough assets to send off for some actual post players, or they feel they can acquire another big piece (likely not a superstar) and make a run at things next year with a *gulp* healthy-as-he-gets Yao Ming, then Adelman still makes a lot of sense to coach this team. He does a great tactical job and knows how to get the most out of a winning squadron.
However, if the Rockets are unable to strike such a deal, and their roster continues to be filled with Terrence Williams, Patrick Patterson, and other rookies who are looking to break in, Adelman is a poor choice to coach the roster. He won't tolerate growing pains, and if you don't play his style of ball all the time, you'll find yourself in the doghouse pretty quickly.
Ultimately, whether the Rockets should invite Adelman back, in my mind, hinges on what their short-term plans for the roster are.