Win 'em when you can

Has any NBA coach ever done less with more than Rick Adelman, who was fired by the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday?

That's the first thought that came to mind when I heard the (unsurprising) news about Adelman's dismissal.

Shouldn't this guy have won a NBA championship at some point? Look at his record. Two of his teams have won 60 games. Seven of them won 50. You would think he might have won one accidentally - except that never happens. He's obviously doing something right. But just not enough.

Of course, Adelman's teams often had the right records at the wrong time. His first Portland team lost to the Pistons in the 1990 NBA Finals. (Sorry about that, Rick.) And after that, he kept running into the Phil Jackson wall. His Trail Blazers ran into the Chicago Bulls buzzsaw in the beginning of its championship days. Later, his Sacramento Kings couldn't get past Big Chief Zen Master's Lakers teams.

And then, with Sacramento's window of championship opportunity already closing, the Gods of Sports Karma struck Chris Webber in the knee for demolishing the University of Michigan basketball program. Tough break, coach. But you know what they say about karma.

Now the Kings, the Maloof brothers, and their next coach are left with the powder keg that is Ron Artest, who (jokingly, one would think) suggested he'd be willing to give up next year's salary to keep Adelman (and Bonzi Wells) in Sacramento. Uh-oh.

Joe Davidson of the Sacramento Bee says Adelman's options include TV work, a NBA front office position, coaching in college, or a life of leisure. The Kings are apparently interested in Terry Porter, Wizards coach Eddie Jordan, and... Don Nelson?

And all the while, both parties might be thinking about opportunities lost. You have to win those championships when you can get 'em. Those windows don't stay open very long.

(Photo by Randy Pench/ Sacramento Bee)