Could Rockets' Adelman And Morey Be Gone By Next Season?

Eye on Basketball's Matt Moore - of Hardwood Paroxysm fame - responds to this...

Everyones contract is up in Houston, including Adelman's. Theres no doubt he's one of the games finest coaches. But with Yao Ming's future up in the air, it could be time for Adelman to move on. When Portland gave Nate McMillan an extension last month, it opened the door for the Rockets to do the same with Adelman. But sources say communication and trust aren't great between Adelman and owner Leslie Alexander, who may conclude that its time for a different direction. Then there is the uncertain future of GM Daryl Morey, whose contract also is up and whose status was described by one industry source as "questionable."

... with this:

The Context of Rick Adelman's Possible Hot Seat:

There are reasons for Alexander to hold, however. The Rockets are on the books for just $48 million next season. Even in a revamped CBA structure, they'll have some wiggle room. Daryl Morey has never had as much financial freedom as he's about to have. If he were to whiff again, or if Adelman was unable to translate an upgraded roster into victories with a healthy club, it would definitely be time for a change. But to let loose one of the more respected general managers, even after a bad run, and one of the more respected coaches, even after some bad defense, in the face of them winning more games than they've lost?

Patience is a virtue, but then, everything has to be put into context.

In context, the Rockets have been quite good under Daryl Morey and Rick Adelman. The team has outperformed the level of healthy and available roster talent for the majority of each's tenure. No question, for the past two battered Rockets teams to finish above .500 is an accomplishment. The year prior, the Rockets - again undermanned - took the Laker juggernaut to seven games in the second round of the playoffs.

Unless you're one of those ignorant "results are results" types who fails to look deep into the REAL reasons why, perhaps, those results weren't achieved (i.e. terrible, awful, incomprehensible-unless-you-live-in-Portland injury woes), you should root for Rick Adelman and Daryl Morey to stick around.

I think the Rockets hold Morey, but I would be slightly surprised if Adelman chose to stay. As I've written before, whether or not they choose to admit it, the Rockets are in a rebuilding mode, and if they aren't completely rebuilding, they're leaning far more towards that route than they have in quite some time. I don't think Rick Adelman, at his age, should want to coach a team whose goal entering next season - barring a huge roster improvement - would be to simply make the playoffs. If I'm Rick Adelman, I'm staying in the league for one reason: to coach a championship contender. That's why he came to Houston to begin with. Now that those days have passed, Adelman could be inclined to move along.

But then again, I'm not Rick Adelman. Maybe he's comfortable. Maybe, despite all of the retirement talk, he'll truly want to work with this bunch and see the job through to an eventual playoff run. I'm not Rick Adelman. I can only guess from what I've seen and heard.

Moore is right. Ideally, we want to see Adelman and Morey stick around. And if the former leaves, I sure hope it is at his accord. The way he has coached thus far, he deserves to choose his fate.