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http://www.sacbee.com/content/sports/basketball/kings/story/12615164p-13469195c.html
Adelman knows the rigors of NBA, as does his family
By Joe Davidson -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 am PST Thursday, March 24, 2005
Wins and losses-wise, Rick Adelman has suffered much worse than this.
His two seasons with the Golden State Warriors in the mid-1990s were a complete mess, with the team having no practice facility or home gym to call their own because of renovations to the Arena. All in all, it made for a "brutal experience," Adelman said.
This season, with the Kings, is entirely different and all the more taxing, never mind the 42-27 record. Adelman, in his seventh Kings season, hasn't endured a campaign quite like this, with expectations meeting with a rash of injuries and mixed in with two significant trades that changed the franchise's face.
Adelman, 58, was granted a contract extension earlier this season, which is good considering the ever-shaky job security for coaches in the NBA. But if you're wondering if there's a lot of joy in victory this season, there is not.
"It's never easy," Adelman said. "You can win seven in a row, and things are looking good, but then you lose a player or lose games, and you think, 'I was afraid of this.' It's much worse when you have a bad team. You have no answers. But this job is difficult, and not just on you, but your family.
"There's speculation all the time, in the papers, on TV, your kids go to school, your wife hears things. It's constant. You don't ever really get away from the job, and it does wear you down. And you do get paranoid. You worry about everything. It's hard not to take all of this hard."
Adelman's wife, Mary Kay, sees the wear and tear more than anyone. She watches her husband agonize on the sideline. At home, she allows him to vent, and she will take his hand to go for a long walk to clear his head.
Married to Adelman for more than 30 years, Mary Kay said the coaching grind hasn't become easier over time. Far from it. Her husband drifts off to sleep, then wakes up several hours later, his mind still racing, plotting, strategizing, bracing for what might come next.
"I worry about him a lot," Mary Kay said Tuesday night while her husband spoke to the media about becoming just the 15th coach in NBA history to win 700 games. "He internalizes a lot. It's always on his mind.
"He's tired a lot, he's road-weary. I know he likes to be home, to relax. But he still takes a lot of notes and thinks."
Adelman said every coach feels for their spouse.
"She's been terrific," he said. "She feels it, too, and she gets real tired of it.
"When the kids come over, they talk about the games. You go to your son's basketball game, and people talk about it. You go to the store ... it's always something. But (fans) are usually pretty nice. They're not throwing eggs at you."
Adelman said had his deal with the Kings not been extended, that if he was fired following the season like so many others in his profession, he would have been fine. NBA coaching has granted him hard-earned riches. He has been fired twice before, by the Portland Trail Blazers and Golden State.
But Adelman said whenever his Kings tour is complete, he isn't about to bounce across the NBA landscape for another job. And the Kings post could in fact be Adelman's last coaching gig. He said he'd be intrigued with an NBA front-office assignment, in Sacramento, in Portland, places like that.
"When I'm done here, I will not do that to my family (take them all over the country)," Adelman said. "The travel is the worst part. At this point in time with me, I'm really tired of the travel. It can really wear on you. "When we're done, we'll see what we want to do. It won't be the end of the world for me. I've been fired twice. I learned both times, it's not going to destroy me."
Adelman knows the rigors of NBA, as does his family
By Joe Davidson -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 am PST Thursday, March 24, 2005
Wins and losses-wise, Rick Adelman has suffered much worse than this.
His two seasons with the Golden State Warriors in the mid-1990s were a complete mess, with the team having no practice facility or home gym to call their own because of renovations to the Arena. All in all, it made for a "brutal experience," Adelman said.
This season, with the Kings, is entirely different and all the more taxing, never mind the 42-27 record. Adelman, in his seventh Kings season, hasn't endured a campaign quite like this, with expectations meeting with a rash of injuries and mixed in with two significant trades that changed the franchise's face.
Adelman, 58, was granted a contract extension earlier this season, which is good considering the ever-shaky job security for coaches in the NBA. But if you're wondering if there's a lot of joy in victory this season, there is not.
"It's never easy," Adelman said. "You can win seven in a row, and things are looking good, but then you lose a player or lose games, and you think, 'I was afraid of this.' It's much worse when you have a bad team. You have no answers. But this job is difficult, and not just on you, but your family.
"There's speculation all the time, in the papers, on TV, your kids go to school, your wife hears things. It's constant. You don't ever really get away from the job, and it does wear you down. And you do get paranoid. You worry about everything. It's hard not to take all of this hard."
Adelman's wife, Mary Kay, sees the wear and tear more than anyone. She watches her husband agonize on the sideline. At home, she allows him to vent, and she will take his hand to go for a long walk to clear his head.
Married to Adelman for more than 30 years, Mary Kay said the coaching grind hasn't become easier over time. Far from it. Her husband drifts off to sleep, then wakes up several hours later, his mind still racing, plotting, strategizing, bracing for what might come next.
"I worry about him a lot," Mary Kay said Tuesday night while her husband spoke to the media about becoming just the 15th coach in NBA history to win 700 games. "He internalizes a lot. It's always on his mind.
"He's tired a lot, he's road-weary. I know he likes to be home, to relax. But he still takes a lot of notes and thinks."
Adelman said every coach feels for their spouse.
"She's been terrific," he said. "She feels it, too, and she gets real tired of it.
"When the kids come over, they talk about the games. You go to your son's basketball game, and people talk about it. You go to the store ... it's always something. But (fans) are usually pretty nice. They're not throwing eggs at you."
Adelman said had his deal with the Kings not been extended, that if he was fired following the season like so many others in his profession, he would have been fine. NBA coaching has granted him hard-earned riches. He has been fired twice before, by the Portland Trail Blazers and Golden State.
But Adelman said whenever his Kings tour is complete, he isn't about to bounce across the NBA landscape for another job. And the Kings post could in fact be Adelman's last coaching gig. He said he'd be intrigued with an NBA front-office assignment, in Sacramento, in Portland, places like that.
"When I'm done here, I will not do that to my family (take them all over the country)," Adelman said. "The travel is the worst part. At this point in time with me, I'm really tired of the travel. It can really wear on you. "When we're done, we'll see what we want to do. It won't be the end of the world for me. I've been fired twice. I learned both times, it's not going to destroy me."
