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Timberwolves reach agreement to make Rick Adelman their new head coach

The Minnesota Timberwolves today announced the team has reached an agreement in principle on a contract with Rick Adelman to become the 10th head coach in franchise history. Adelman ranks eighth all-time in NBA coaching wins with a 945-616 (.605 winning percentage) career record in 20 seasons as a head coach.

Adelman, 65, has previously served as head coach of four NBA teams: Portland (1988-94), Golden State (1995-97), Sacramento (1998-2006) and Houston (2007-11). Some of his coaching highlights include: two NBA Finals appearances (1990 and 1992 with Portland), four Western Conference Finals (1989-90, 1990-91 and 1991-92 with Portland and 2002 with Sacramento) and four division titles (1990-91 and 1991-92 with Portland; 2001-02 and 2002-03 with Sacramento).

Additionally, Adelman’s teams have reached the NBA playoffs in 16 of his 20 seasons as a head coach, and he holds an all-time playoff record of 79-78 (.503 winning percentage). He is one of only five head coaches in NBA history to win 60+ games with two different teams (Portland and Sacramento). Adelman has been runner-up for the NBA Coach of the Year award four times. Most recently, Adelman was the head coach of the Houston Rockets the past four seasons leading Houston to a 193-135 record, with the .588 winning percentage being the highest in franchise history.

Timberwolves will reportedly make Rick Adelman their new head coach

The AP reports:

The Minnesota Timberwolves are bringing in Rick Adelman to try and turn around one of the NBA’s most downtrodden franchises.

Two people with knowledge of the agreement told The Associated Press on Monday that the team and the 65-year-old Adelman have agreed on terms and a contract is expected to be signed soon. The people requested anonymity because an official announcement has not been made.

Adelman replaces Kurt Rambis, who lasted just two seasons on the job.

“Houston, we have a coach,” All-Star forward Kevin Love tweeted earlier Monday, kicking off the welcoming festivities for an accomplished coach who will be expected to bring credibility and intensity back to a team that has severely lacked both in recent seasons.

Adelman is 945-616 in 20 seasons as a head coach of the Trail Blazers, Kings, Warriors and Rockets. He parted ways with the Rockets in April.

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Luis Scola named MVP of 2011 FIBA Americas tournament

Argentina beat Brazil 80-75 to win the 2011 FIBA Americas championship.

FIBA.com reports:

Luis Scola was FIBA Americas MVP and top scorer.

“I wasn’t expecting this tournament to be that special. But it was so big and so great I can compare it to biggest tournaments like the Olympic Games we won,” said Luis Scola.

The Houston Rockets centre recovered from a knee surgery in April.

“It was incredible because I didn’t know if I could make it to the games due to my injury and I finished as the MVP,” added Scola, who averaged 21,4 points and 6,3 rebounds per game.

Manu Ginóbili became emotional after celebrating, jumping and singing with the crowd for 30 long minutes.

“We had 9,000 desperate people shouting for us and we were there, celebrating after 45 days of tough work,” said Manu.

Argentina beats Brazil in 2011 FIBA Americas championship game

The AP reports:

Argentina defeated Brazil 80-75 on Sunday to win the championship game of the Olympic basketball qualifying tournament for the Americas.

Luis Scola led Argentina with 32 points and Carlos Delfino added 16. Marcus Vinicuis had 17 for Brazil.

The game was mostly for pride since both teams had already won their semifinal matches on Saturday, which gave them two automatic berths in next year’s London Olympics.

The Dominican Republic defeated Puerto Rico 103-89 in Sunday’s third-place game. The Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and Venezuela—by claiming spots three, four and five in the tournament—earn places in a qualifying tournament just before the games, which will award several more berths for London.

Rockets rookie Chandler Parsons will play basketball in France

Houston Rockets rookie forward Chandler Parsons will reportedly play in France during the NBA lockout.

According to Sam Amick of Sports Illustrated (via Twitter), “Houston rookie forward Chandler Parsons will be signing with Cholet in France, according to his agent, Mark Bartelstein. The 38th pick out of Florida had reportedly turned down a chance to play in France just three weeks ago. Parsons’ deal is guaranteed for two months, with an opt-out that starts on October 3 in case the NBA lockout ends.”

Per Amick: “They’re a really good team (with) terrific history,” Parsons’ agent Mark Bartelstein said. “They’ve won the French League the last couple years and are trying to qualify for the Euroleague right now.”

Parsons is a 6-10, 220-pound forward who went to college at Florida.

Rick Adelman interviewing for Timberwolves head coaching job

Rick Adelman is in town today to interview for the Timberwolves coaching job.

He’ll meet with president of basketball operations David Kahn, CEO Rob Moor and owner Glen Taylor.

The Wolves brass worked for weeks to get Adelman to come in for more than a phone interview. If he wants the job, and they can agree on a salary, the job is probably his.

The salary would probably have to be around $5 million per year.

— Report by Jerry Zgoda of the Minneapolis Star Tribune blog

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Rockets forward Chase Budinger enters beach volleyball tourney

Chase Budinger of the Houston Rockets has entered the men’s open division of the Corona Light Wide Open beach volleyball tournament to be played Saturday and Sunday.

The former Arizona star, who has played the last two seasons with the Rockets, will partner with former UC Santa Barbara all-star Dane Jensen. Budinger was a two-sport standout at La Costa Canyon High in San Diego County. He won the 2006 Mizuno National Player of the Year Award in volleyball and was named a McDonald’s All-American in basketball.

With NBA players locked out by owners, no one is sure if there will be a 2011-12 season.

“Volleyball has always been a passion of mine, and it has been great to get back out on the beach and train,” Budinger said in a statement. “I’m really excited about this opportunity and I’m looking forward to seeing how my skills match up against some of the top players.”

— Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle blog

Fans react to Houston being named 2013 NBA All-Star weekend host city

By Jeff Lenchiner

It was a surprise today learning that the Houston Rockets, after hosting NBA All-Star weekend in 2006, get to do it again in 2013. Many teams would love to host the big event, and there’s no particular reason for Houston to land the honor quite so soon.

So, using Twitter, I reached out to the over 55,800 people currently following InsideHoops and asked them to to chime in with guesses as to why Houston is again playing All-Star host while so many other cities continue to wait. Here are some of my favorite responses (some of which I may agree with, others not so much):

MarkEomurian: Houston wants to draw attention to the smog problem?

Pharoah2012: Cuz…”We Da Best Host City”! :)

Joco967: Brian scalabrine once dreamt about Houston. The rest is self-explanatory.

SupaSIGMA4: Cuz the Chi is too dangerous and they’ve been everywhere else significant.

Crawf33: They’ve gotta have SOMETHING to pep them up after Yao called it a day.

MySkizzle: With Yao gone and the lockout looming, Stern will probably do something around Yao that night to keep Chinese market.

djgray1: Because it’s always hot here. No worries about bad weather.

HoopsU: It’s warm.

dboy03: Losing Yao Ming. NBA feels sorry for them.

MemphisSportFan: The NBA will do anything to keep the all-star game out of Memphis. So they put it in Houston again.

ImmaSavedSinner: Cause all the hoes here in the H.

glazeduck: capitalizing on Asian market before the Yao effect wears off.

MeteAktas76: A consolation for Yao Ming’s early retirement maybe?

——

Many others also mentioned the Yao Ming factor. I’d say there’s something to that Perhaps Yao will be brought over and there will be a massive tribute to him, as a way to keep fans in China tuned in.

Also, a big part of NBA All-Star weekend is the hotel situation. There needs to be plenty of rooms available, right nearby. And there are also various hotel partnerships that may come into play, somehow.

Houston is also warmer in the winter than most places. It has an airport, with functional planes and everything! That’s probably the bulk of it.

So, here’s to a great weekend in Houston in 2013! But first, in February of 2012 we’ll head to sunny, warm Orlando.

Houston lands 2013 NBA All-Star Game

Mark Berman of My Fox Houston reports:

NBA sources told FOX 26 Sports the Houston Rockets and the City of Houston landed the NBA All-Star Game in 2013. The game will be played at Toyota Center on Feb. 17, 2013. NBA All-Star week will be Feb. 15-17. The Rockets and Toyota Center also hosted the game in 2006.

Click2Houston reports:

The entire NBA All-Star Weekend will be in the Bayou City from February 15-17, 2013. Hilton Americas Marketing Director Janice O’Neill-Cox spoke with Local 2 Sports Wednesday afternoon, saying, “We played a key role in working with the league to make sure availability was in place. It’s a big boost for our city to land the game, and we’re excited about it.”

InsideHoops.com editor says: I don’t get why Houston is getting the game again. They just had it in 2006. Meanwhile, other teams haven’t hosted it in a long time. Also, Madison Square Garden renovations will be mostly complete in time. And the new Brooklyn Nets arena will exist by mid 2012. Unusual call to send the big weekend back to Houston so soon.

Yao Ming primed to receive Hall of Fame nomination in 2012

Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com reports:

Yao Ming appears destined to be an unexpected member of the next Hall of Fame class.

Officials of the basketball museum said representatives from the Chinese Basketball Association and media in China signaled plans to nominate Yao in the contributor category and bypass the usual five-year waiting period for retired players.

While there is no such thing as certainty in a balloting so secretive that even the voters are never revealed, let alone the results, Yao being nominated as a contributor removes the debate that might have accompanied his nomination as a player after an injury-plagued career. Plus, after announcing his retirement from the Rockets in July, he would not have been eligible for enshrinement until 2017.

This unique approach would put Yao on the ballot that is submitted in late-2011 and faces two rounds of voting before inductees for the Class of 2012 are announced at the Final Four in New Orleans. The actual enshrinement would be later in the summer, likely August, in Springfield.

InsideHoops.com editor says: I wouldn’t put Yao Ming in the Hall of Fame as a player, because he simply didn’t play enough. A very good center who was often pretty great, Yao wasn’t as healthy as needed for a full career. But I have no objection to putting Yao in the Hall as a “contributor” to basketball, which is term that is extremely open to interpretation. And in this case, it seems reasonable. He helped bring millions of new fans to basketball, and inspired millions of others to care more. And lots of them will stick around and be a part of the sport, even as Yao’s playing days are finished.

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