Greetings.
Kent Youngblood here, in Houston, with Jerry getting a much-deserved day off.
Well, Wolves coach Rick Adelman made his return to Houston today. And, in front of a very large cadre of reporters, used his sense of humor to inject some pretty quotable quotes. Let's just say he was way more interesting than Kevin McHale was when he returned to Minneapolis a few games back.
Not to make too much of this, but here's the background. When McHale was hired in Houston, a column was run in the Houston Chronicle in which it was suggested that Adelman -- as well as another former Rockets coach, Jeff Van Gundy -- kept Rockets owner Leslie Alexander at arm's length. Specifically, that Alexander called his coach three or four times a year but that the coach didn't pick up.
With that out of the way, here is how Adelman reacted to that suggestion:
"You know, I'm still waiting for that phone call he said he made to me every year," Adelman joked. "I never got one, unless he was calling another Rick. I didn't think anything of it until I saw all this stuff about how I never listened to him. It was kind of a joke. He said he used to call me three or four times a year. It never happened. When you leave a place, there's reasons why you leave. there's reasons why you're not there. I chose not to accept the extension they offered me. I always thought the operation here was Daryl (Morey, GM of the Rockets) and Les talking and then when I met with Les it was Daryl, Les and I. I'm not real smart, but I'm going to listen to my boss. That kind of turned me the wrong way. Everybody has a spin on something when something happens. It was a great place to work, and I had a lot of fun. Hopefully we can recreate it in Minnesota, the same atmosphere."
Well, there you go. Other than that, Adelman said he loved the city of Houston, loved his time here, liked the people he dealt with on a day-to-day basis.
Here's a couple other things:
