Sports

Adelman interviews with Wolves

Rick Adelman met 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.

By Jerry Zgoda

August 24, 2011 at 1:25AM

Rick Adelman. (Associated Press/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

He came, he saw, he listened.

As we first reported at noon, Rick Adelman was in town today to interview for the Timberwolves coaching job and as of late afternoon, I heard he was already on a plane out of town -- presumably home to Portland -- without an offer yet being made.

He met with president of basketball operations David Kahn, owner Glen Taylor, CEO Rob Moor and probably minority partners and other personnel as well.

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.

That salary would probably approach $5 million per year.

The four-year contract he signed with Houston in 2007 was worth a bit more than $16 million.

Don Nelson and Sam Mitchell are the other top candidates in a process that also included Mike Woodson, Bernie Bickerstaff, Terry Porter and Larry Brown.

Earlier this month, Adelman told a Salem, Ore., reporter that he didn't plan on coaching this coming season, whenever that might be.

At least he said he didn't have any such plans "right now."

That has changed, at least enough for him to give the Wolves a good in-person listen today.

His family apparently wants him to take a season off -- if not outright retire at age 65 -- after he coached the Rockets the last four years.

He took a year off after each of his coaching jobs with Portland, Golden State and Sacramento.

Adelman's signing would give the Wolves the kind of coach -- a successful one who believes in fast-paced basketball -- Kahn last month said he seeks and it'd be a proactive step toward getting Kevin Love to sign a long-term contract extension.

Adelman and Love have a relationship that dates to Love's high-school years, when Adelman saw nearly every game Love played his senior season because Adelman's son played on the same Lake Oswego, Ore., team.

And for those who missed it, earlier this month, we broke down

the coaching candidates

.