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MINNEAPOLIS - Rick Adelman coached four teams in his first
two decades in the NBA, each time taking a year off before starting
his next journey.


      He didn't wait nearly as long to take over perhaps his most
challenging job yet.


      The Minnesota Timberwolves are bringing Adelman in to try and
turn around one of the NBA's most downtrodden franchises.


      Two people with knowledge of the agreement told The Associated
Press on Monday that the team and the 65-year-old Adelman have
agreed on terms and a contract is expected to be signed soon. The
people requested anonymity because an official announcement has not
been made.


      Adelman replaces Kurt Rambis, who lasted just two seasons on the
job.


      "Houston, we have a coach," All-Star forward Kevin Love
tweeted earlier Monday, kicking off the welcoming festivities for
an accomplished coach who will be expected to bring credibility and
intensity back to a team that has severely lacked both in recent
seasons.


      Adelman is 945-616 in 20 seasons as a head coach of the Trail
Blazers, Kings, Warriors and Rockets. He parted ways with Houston
in April and the Rockets brought in former Timberwolves executive
and coach Kevin McHale to replace him.


      He'll have his work cut out for him at his latest, and perhaps
final, stop.


      The Timberwolves have won just 32 games over president of
basketball operations David Kahn's first two seasons, including an
NBA-worst 17-65 record last year.


      With the Timberwolves reeling and struggling to draw fans ever
since they traded Kevin Garnett to Boston in 2007, Kahn and owner
Glen Taylor set out to make a statement after Kahn's drawn-out
firing of Rambis drew criticism.


      In addition to Adelman, the Wolves interviewed Don Nelson, Sam
Mitchell, Bernie Bickerstaff, Mike Woodson, Terry Porter and Larry
Brown in the kind of deliberate process that has become the
hallmark of Kahn's short tenure.


      And even though many around the league expected Adelman to take
another year off, wait for the lockout to be resolved and make a
run at a team with more veterans who are considered closer to
contending for a title, the Wolves managed to convince him to join
them.


      In doing so, Taylor and Kahn landed a proven winner who has a
history of playing the kind of free-flowing, up-tempo system that
Kahn so desperately wants in Minnesota. Kahn clashed with Rambis
over the direction of the offense.


      Adelman led the Blazers to the NBA Finals in 1990 and 1992 and
in his 18 full seasons as a head coach he has presided over a team
with a losing record just twice.


      In Minnesota, Adelman inherits a promising roster that includes
Love, No. 2 pick Derrick Williams and Spanish point guard Ricky
Rubio.


      Adelman has a long history with Love, which may have played a
role in accepting a position with a team that hasn't made the
playoffs since 2004.


      Love played on the same Oregon high school team as Adelman's
son, and the two got to know each other while Adelman attended the
games. The versatile forward is one of the league's best rebounders
who also has 3-point range and seems to be an ideal fit for
Adelman's offense.


      The Timberwolves also have an intriguing, if unproven, young
cast around Love, including Williams, Wes Johnson and Michael
Beasley. One of Adelman's biggest tasks will be to help Rubio, the
fifth overall pick in 2009, acclimate himself to the NBA game.


      Rubio decided to spend the previous two years playing in Spain
rather than exercise an enormous buyout to play in the NBA right
away, and his progression seems to have slowed. Now he will learn
the game from one of the league's top offensive minds.


      The Timberwolves will also need to add a veteran or two to help
Adelman show the young pups how to be professionals, but locking
down a replacement for Rambis was the first step.


      Adelman twice came to the Twin Cities in August to meet with
Wolves brass and he knows Kahn from the days when the executive was
an NBA writer for The Oregonian and Adelman coached the Blazers.


      Ultimately, Taylor had to make the decision to pay Adelman what
he wanted while also having to pay Rambis the final two years and
$4 million left on his contract.

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Minnesota Timberwolves

The Minnesota Timberwolves are close to hiring Rick Adelman as their new head coach.

AP: Timberwolves to bring in Adelman as coach

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