Rick Adelman Doesn’t Like David Kahn Very Much

Money trumped Rick Adelman’s feelings about Wolves’ GM David Kahn. Fun times ahead in Minny. Reports Yahoo! Sports: “Privately, Adelman didn’t disguise his disdain for Kahn. They go back to Adelman’s glory days coaching the Portland Trail Blazers in the late 1980s and 1990s, when Kahn was covering the NBA beat as a sportswriter for the Oregonian. The idea that a bad sportswriter had turned into a brutal NBA executive troubled him, sources said. He couldn’t stand him then, and had no intention of resurrecting a working relationship with the man. As they say, you can’t pick your family members, or your beat writers. Your GM? Well, that’s different. Adelman badly wanted the Los Angeles Lakers job, and he would’ve been hired had GM Mitch Kupchak not had to defer to Jim Buss’ desire for Mike Brown. Once Kurt Rambis was fired, Kahn reached out, and Adelman resisted. Ultimately, Kahn needed Minnesota owner Glen Taylor to get involved in the recruitment of Adelman, because the GM had no chance with him. Five months ago, Adelman never would’ve imagined he’d coach the Timberwolves. He was 65 years old, wanted a contender, and the Wolves are a long, long way away. Well, $5 million a season can change a man’s mind. It’s no crime, but understand: The money mattered here. Probably mattered the most. Yes, Adelman wanted to coach Kevin Love, but he had no intention of doing it on a discount. In the end, money overrode everything – including the presence of Kahn. ‘Rick would never agree to anything with Kahn,’ one league official connected to Adelman said Monday. ‘This had to be [a deal] with Taylor. …Rick has talked many times of his dislike for Kahn.'”