Adelman has an opt-out clause in his contract, and was set to make $6 million next season. He has a 1,042-749 record in 23 seasons in the NBA with Portland, Golden State, Sacramento and Houston. Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
Rick Adelman will not return as head coach of the Minnesota Timberwolves next season, according to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, citing a decision-making source who said there is “zero” chance he comes back.
Adelman was 97-133 in his three seasons in Minnesota and the Timberwolves were 40-42 in 2013-14. They last made the playoffs at the end of the 2003-04 season.
Adelman has an opt-out clause in his contract, and was set to make $6 million next season. He has a 1,042-749 record in 23 seasons in the NBA with Portland, Golden State, Sacramento and Houston.
Team president Flip Saunders could move from the front office to the bench, but there is reportedly interest from the franchise in former Timberwolves guard Fred Hoiberg, who led Iowa State to the Sweet 16.
—LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Kobe Bryant had the top-selling NBA jerseys in the league this season.
James and Durant, MVP candidates on contending teams that finished second in their respective conferences, were also 1-2 last season in the same rankings, the result of in-season sales at the NBA Store.
James and the NBA champion Miami Heat led all team sales. This marks the sixth time in 11 seasons that James had the top-selling jersey in the NBA. Durant and Oklahoma City Thunder teammate Russell Westbrook were in the top 12, as were Los Angeles Clippers teammates Chris Paul (eighth) and Blake Griffin (11th).
—All-Star power forward Blake Griffin of the Los Angeles Clippers supports medical marijuana use in the NBA, saying it would trump the current issue of prescription painkiller dependency.
“It doesn’t really affect me, but so many guys would probably benefit from it and not take as many painkillers, which have worse long-term effects,” Griffin said. “So I would vote yes. I just think it makes sense.”
—Team president Phil Jackson said at his introductory press conference after meeting with Mike Woodson that he would be considered when the New York Knicks determine who will be the coach in 2014-15.
Woodson, who met with Jackson in March, said Wednesday as a disappointing regular season came to a close that he would like to return. Woodson has one year left on his contract worth $3.3 million.
“As a coach, I put myself in position to do the right thing and I think I have done the right thing unfortunately we had some misfortune in terms of injuries,” Woodson said. “I never used that once as an excuse. Eventually when that time comes, they’ll let me know what they want to do.”
Reports linked former Chicago Bulls guard Steve Kerr, an NBA analyst for Turner Sports, and others with ties to Jackson as possible replacements for Woodson, who replaced coach Mike D’Antoni in an interim role in 2012 and guided the team to the playoffs last season.
—Kobe Bryant was cleared to begin a six-month training program designed to prepare him for training camp in October.
Bryant last played Dec. 17 when he sustained a fractured lateral tibial plateau in his knee during a game against the Memphis Grizzlies. That injury occurred after he missed the first 19 games of the season during his recovery from a torn Achilles in his left leg from last April.
Bryant turns 36 before the start of next season. He said the 2013-14 season was “a frustrating and disappointing season, but I appreciate all the support I’ve received from the Lakers and the fans, and look forward to being back and ready for the start of training camp.”
Because of the injuries, he played in only six games and averaged 13.8 points and 6.3 assists.
