Adelman a good match for Timberwolves

MINNEAPOLIS — The search is over: The Minnesota Timberwolves finally have a new head coach.

Rick Adelman has agreed to coach the Minnesota Timberwolves, league sources confirmed to FOXSportsNorth.com on Monday, ending a search that officially lasted two months but, in reality, actually went three months longer.

David Kahn, president of basketball operations, all but fired Kurt Rambis in an end-of-season news conference before Minnesota's April 13 season-ending loss to Adelman's Houston Rockets.

The Timberwolves became the last of six NBA teams seeking head coaches to fill its vacancy. Adelman, 65, was let go by the Rockets on April 18.

Four of the six clubs looking for new coaches made a hire by June 21, and Rambis wasn't officially fired until three weeks after that. However, the late firing likely didn't impact the search for Rambis' replacement.

Former Wolves coaches Kevin McHale and Dwane Casey, who would not have been considered, landed in Houston and Toronto, respectively.

Two potential candidates did not meet Kahn's qualifications. Mark Jackson was hired to coach Golden State, but he did not have the NBA coaching experience Kahn desired. Mike Brown, hired to fill Phil Jackson's shoes with the Los Angeles Lakers, didn't direct the type of up-tempo basketball in five years in Cleveland that Kahn wants to see.

And Detroit hired Lawrence Frank, another coach who never seemed to be on Kahn's radar.

Instead, the Wolves brought in Bernie Bickerstaff, Don Nelson, Larry Brown, Sam Mitchell, Mike Woodson and Terry Porter for interviews. They spoke with Adelman by phone. Adelman later was enticed enough by what he heard to make two visits to the Twin Cities — the second reportedly was on Aug. 30 — to meet with Timberwolves officials.

No other candidate was reported to have met with Minnesota brass more than once.

Of all the candidates, Adelman made the most sense from the start. He's a 20-year coaching veteran with 16 trips to the playoffs, and his .605 career winning percentage ranks him eighth among all time among NBA coaches with 945 wins.

Aside from being an experienced winner, Adelman has produced teams among the league's top five in pace of play nine times. Only one Adelman-coached team — the Yao Ming-centric squad he inherited in 2007 — has finished lower than ninth in pace of play.

Adelman has been asked before to rebuild a team to play fast. The Sacramento Kings had 15 consecutive losing seasons before Adelman took over, then went to the playoffs in each of his eight seasons. They haven't been back since he left.

Adelman also is familiar with Wolves star Kevin Love, having watched him play in high school alongside Adelman's son, Patrick. Love, like Chris Webber in Sacramento is a big man with shooting and passing skills who could flourish in Adelman's offense.

Hiring Adelman could be the first step in getting Love to agree to a contract extension in Minnesota. It could also be a big step toward team relevancy for the first time since Kevin Garnett's departure in 2007.