There is no doubt in my mind that Rick is a HOF caliber coach, but who are you saying doesn't belong on the bench? I know you are not referring to McHale.
He's a great coach, probably the best active after Popovich, but even he has flaws. He sticks with his guys and this is a case where it's going to work out very poorly for his team.
I think he knew how good Lowry was. But he stuck to the principle "you don't lose your starting job because of injury" which is a common practice among coaches. He gave Brooks all the chances to win back his starting role. I agree that he stayed with Brooks too long. Adelman was loyal to a fault. (In that way, he is like Rudy T.) That's why I think Morey (or Alexander) asking him to abandon his assistants was not a negotiation but a way to force him out. There was no way, and the FO knew it, that Adelman would accept that.
So sick of the "very lucky" line. Morey put the Rockets in a position to take advantage of opportunities and he did. We waited a few years, we lost out on other stars and avoided signing mediocre players. If it hasn't been Harden, it would have been the next star on the market.
#1 Rick is not in the Hall of Fame. #2 Rick is a vastly superior X's and O's coach, but no where near the leader McHale is. #3 The argument isn't whether Adelman or McHale is a better coach. The argument is whetherAdelman making personnel decisions while being a coach is better than McHale coaching but leaving the executive decisions to Morey.... Sorry but it is no contest, give me Morey and McHale.... and Howard and Harden over Adelman and Batum and Chase....
please. A coach cannot meddle if the FO does not allow it. RA did it with the Kings and partly with Portland. Recently it did not work and that does not make it a overall failure.
Not sure I'd call it luck. He prepared to be able to make a major trade. Collected the assets, reserved the capspace, and repeatedly swung for blockbuster trades. And repeatedly missed. Till one day he hit. You call that luck. Daryl calls it a batting average.
Not entirely true. Minny was a terrible organization since KG left. Pinning the blame and everything on Adelman is not fair to the old man. The entire Front Office, management did a poor job again and again therefore you will see mediocrity and missing playoffs frequently.
Riiight... and that is why Adelman is not with the Rockets now. Morey wanted to increase assets and flexibility to aquire elite players. Adelman wanted to bring is mediocre veterans like Brad Miller and rely on mediocre players such as Chase Budinger. Morey has wound up with Harden and Howard. Adelman has continued the mediocre grab in Minnesota and wasted precious cap space on good but not great players. Adelman is a good coach, he knows his X's and O's but at this point of his career wants more control and say than just coaching, and there lies the problem.
I can agree that RA is not the coach he was one decade ago. Again he wants more control which might be true but it is not like he has time to control a team (sick state of his wife Mary Kay and other things on his mind). McHale being a better leader? That remains to be seen. I guess Adelman has led two teams to Finals appearances and McHale has yet to make Round 2 which he will in time. RA not being a Hall of Famer yet? It is bound to happen. He is one of the coaches that everybody respects. He has a lot of wins under his belt. If Don Nelson is a Famer, he is going to be too. RA has been a system coach much like Mike D'antoni but clearly he has more experience and vision unlike Run and Gun Mike. Adelman brought in Brad Miller to act as a veteran much like Camby now. They are not here for more playing time. It happened that Brad Miller got some PT at that time. Not much money wasted. Minny has been in hell mainly because of Khan, Management. McHale wasn't that good as a GM either when he was with Minny. McHale delivered KG to Boston. Adelman would still be here if we had Harden and Howard instead of Ariza, Brooks and Martin in major roles.