Adelman recognized as pioneer of modern NBA

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He lost out on the Lakers’ job, yet his fingerprints can be found on nearly every team in the NBA this season – including those self-same Lakers.

Phil Jackson? No. Rick Adelman.

The most common set being used by teams this season goes by a variety of names – Corner, Push, Wide, Motion, Sacramento – but there’s one man credited for popularizing it: Adelman, who was passed over for the Lakers’ job two years ago in favor of Mike Brown, who was recently fired five games into this season and after 83 total games at the Lakers’ helm.
Adelman was subsequently hired by the Minnesota Timberwolves, which has a winning record in spite of an absolute avalanche of injuries. That’s an Adelman specialty – taking whatever group of players he’s given and making them instantly competitive. In 21 seasons with five different teams, he’s made the playoffs 21 times.

One reason is his Corner set offense. The rest of the league has taken notice, which is why more than two-thirds of the league’s 30 teams run some version of it. Even Mike D’Antoni, hired by the Lakers to replace Brown, uses it when forced into a half-court offense.

“Just about everybody runs it,” said Denver Nuggets assistant coach Melvin Hunt. “You almost have to, just so your guys know how to defend it.”

Most teams call it “Sacramento,” because that’s where Adelman used it to such noticeable success, leading the Kings to the playoffs every one of his eight seasons with them, including a run to the Western Conference finals in 2002. It has been making its way into opposing playbooks ever since. The San Antonio Spurs have long had a version of it. The Mavericks used it to great success to win the 2011 NBA title, as did the Miami Heat to win the 2012 championship.

“Rick’s impact has been phenomenal,” said one NBA scout. “The (WNBA’s) Minnesota Lynx are even running it.”

The system is ideal for teams with good jump-shooting guards and big men with passing skills. The basic premise is for the point guard to get the ball to a big man at the free-throw line elbow and then curl to the nearest corner. The second guard then sets a down screen for the point guard. The two guards then cut, or split, away from each other and the big man looks for the one who is open. If neither one is, the ball swings to the other side of the floor, most often for a pick-and-roll action.

The Kings are back to using it and the Golden State Warriors are expected to run it as much as anybody with David Lee and Andrew Bogut passing from the high post and Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Harrison Barnes picking for each other.

“It’s kind of sexy now because most of the bigs in the league are not post-up bigs,” Hunt said. “It facilitates movement and balances the floor. It has a ton of stuff you can do out of it.”

It’s also a perfect balance of structure and freedom. There are basic rules, but the players are free to operate within them as they see fit.

“It’s a flow offense that allows the modern player to do what he does best – read and react,” the scout said. “There’s never been a guy who hasn’t liked playing for Rick Adelman. Even Tracy McGrady, who was a pain in the balls, liked playing in this system.”

The Lakers said at the time that they chose Brown over Adelman because his interview was so much better, but one other reason could have been Lakers executive Jim Buss’ committed desire to move away from the Triangle offense. The Corner system bears some resemblance.

Hopefully someone catches Buss’ expression when the Lakers’ fastbreak is stymied and he suddenly sees those purple and gold uniforms spaced on the floor in a very familiar pattern.