Kevin Duckworth just found out the other day that his coach has only one year left on his contract.
"That's a shocker," Duckworth said, "but you never know in this league."Rick Adelman, who has led the Portland Trail Blazers to the NBA Finals twice in slightly more than three seasons as head coach, deserves better, his star player, Clyde Drexler, says.
"He's a great coach," Drexler said Tuesday. "Rick should have been coach of the year."
Drexler blames the team's management and owner Paul Allen for not giving Adelman a contract extension.
"He deserved it at the beginning of the year," Drexler said. "As a player, you want to see it taken care of because you know how your team is structured and how things work. When a guy makes it to the NBA Finals and there's still some question, then there's something wrong with the surroundings."
Two Western Conference titles and a 193-88 record hasn't been enough to convince Allen that Adelman deserves a contract extension yet.
Adelman got a three-year contract after directing the Blazers to the Finals in 1990. Before that, he had a one-year contract after filling out the last three months of the 1988-89 season following the firing of Mike Schuler.
Ten Blazer players earn more than Adelman, who makes about $375,000 a year.
"Everybody would like to have some security but I can't worry about that," Adelman said "It's out of my hands."
Adelman hasn't received much acclaim nationwide, despite his success. The prevailing sentiment is this is a team that should win, no matter who is the coach. Anything short of an NBA title is a disappointment.
Anytime a Blazer clangs an ugly jumper off the rim, throws the ball away or misses a defensive switch, allowing an opponent to slam dunk, somebody somewhere says it's the coach's fault.
On a team whose mental abilities have been repeatedly questioned, the coach is an obvious target.
"I don't worry about people's perceptions of my coaching," Adelman said. "I don't apologize for anything. This team is very good. We've done a good job. I do the best job I can."
The criticism is expected, Adelman said.
"If you lose, there's always going to be a reason, and it's probably going to be my fault," he said. "If we win, there's still some things I could have done better. That's just the way it is in this business. I'm not going to worry about it. As long as I can go to sleep, I'm all right."
Geoff Petrie, the Blazers' senior vice president for basketball operations, said management didn't want to discuss the matter during the season.
"We're going to make all those decisions about what we're going to do once the season is over," Petrie said.
But could Adelman's job possibly be in danger, despite his success?
"As far as I'm concerned, his position is very secure," Petrie said. "I mean, the guy has just about the best record in the league over the last three years."
Chicago's Phil Jackson, the only other coach in the league with a better record since 1989, says Adelman hasn't brought much new to the Blazers in terms of specific offensive or defensive changes.
"What Rick's done so well is he's kept the mindset of the ball club so much better," Jackson said. "Being positive, aggressive, motivated; all those things I attribute to Rick."