In a surprising decision, the highly successful Rick Adelman is leaving the Houston Rockets. There appears to be a wide gulf between Adelman and the owner Les Alexander, according to The Dream Shake, our Rockets SB Nation site. The inability to guarantee Adelman a long-term contract of any sort seems to be the final straw, which is why Houston will move on despite several winning seasons with him installed (and a lot of his winning, including that now famous 22 game win streak, came with Yao Ming sitting on the bench!). Curious move by the Rockets to change up their coaching staff despite only having average talent on their squad.
The question now becomes this: Is a return to Northern California on the horizon?
Adelman is best known in recent history as leading the freewheeling and endearing Sacramento Kings a decade ago to the cusp of an NBA championship. While he and the Maloofs didn't part on amicable terms, a transfer of ownership (which could be discussed soon enough) might open the door for his return. Sacramento is struggling under Paul Westphal, and they have young developing talent that could thrive in the right situation. Adelman could give them that.
The weirder scenario is the Golden State Warriors. It's hard to envision Adelman joining up with that dysfunctional franchise anytime soon, and without any lasting big man power up front, it doesn't seem like the type of deal that would suit him. But the Warriors are all about offense, and Keith Smart clearly doesn't have a grip on having the Dubs execute well enough on a day-to-day basis.
There will be plenty of other places suggested though, so don't expect Adelman to favor the Bay Area teams by any measure. New York and Los Angeles might also be enviable destinations soon enough.