HOUSTON (AP) -Rick Adelman was waiting for the right situation and is certain this is it.
He was introduced as the Houston Rockets’ coach Wednesday, ending a two-week courtship that began before Jeff Van Gundy was fired.
Adelman arrived in Houston late Tuesday from Portland, where he’s lived since the Sacramento Kings decided not to renew his contract after the 2005-06 season.
“Last year, I sat out and watched the league and everything,” Adelman said. “It was going to have to be good situation, good ownership, a good organization and a team that had a chance to win. The more I looked at the team, the more I felt this is a great opportunity.”
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Adelman thinks he knows how to change that.
“I’ve always felt that if you can put a player in a position to be better, and they know that’s happening, that’s going to make the team better and they’re going to buy into what you’re trying to do,” Adelman said. “I know that’s successful because I’ve done it in the past.”
Owner Les Alexander, making his first comments since the coaching change, grew impatient waiting for his team to make a deep postseason run under Van Gundy.
Adelman has led teams beyond the first round seven times in 14 postseason appearances, including two trips to the NBA finals in his first three seasons at Portland in the early 1990s.
“Hopefully, we will be able to add more talent during the offseason,” Alexander said. “Hopefully, our teams will be better in the playoffs. And that will take us farther along the line. That’s my expectation.”
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