Long believed to be the frontrunner if he wants the job, Rick Adelman finally came to the Twin Cities on Tuesday and interviewed with the Timberwolves about their coaching opening.
Three weeks after he told an Oregon newspaper that he has no plans "right now" to coach next season, Adelman met with Wolves president of basketball operations David Kahn, owner Glen Taylor and CEO Rob Moor before catching a flight home, a league source with knowledge of the team's search said.
He is the seventh and final candidate -- Don Nelson, Sam Mitchell, Mike Woodson, Larry Brown, Bernie Bickerstaff and Terry Porter are the others -- to interview for a job that became vacant when Kurt Rambis was fired last month after two seasons as head coach.
Adelman first talked with Kahn about the job at some length by phone more than a month ago, but didn't interview in person, as the other six candidates did previously, until Tuesday, nearly two weeks after Brown was the last candidate to interview.
He has coached four NBA teams in the past two decades, mostly recently with Houston. The Rockets and Adelman parted ways after last season, when the four-year, $16.25 million contract he signed in 2007 expired.
He's expected to command a contract of at least three years and $4 million to $5 million annually -- if not more -- should the Wolves reach an agreement with him.
Adelman, 65, took a year off from coaching after his first three NBA head-coaching jobs, with Portland, Golden State and Sacramento.
His family apparently wants him to take at least a season off, if not outright retire. More than one NBA league executive or coach initially believed the Wolves' job was too big of a rebuilding project at this stage of his life to attract Adelman, who had differences with a Rockets management team that wanted him to play younger players more last season.
