Rick Adelman

More immediate concerns occupy Rick Adelman's thoughts these days than his interim status as coach of the Portland Trail Blazers. Instead, his concern is how to prevent his team from being a victim of another Laker onslaught today in Game 2 of the National Basketball Assn. Western Conference quarterfinals in the Forum. But, still Adelman wonders whether he will lose that interim qualifier or simply lose his job if and when the Trail Blazers are ousted from the playoffs. A strong showing today (12:30, Channel 2)

Time: 7:30. On the air: TV: FS West; Radio: 710, 1330. Where: Staples Center. Records: Lakers 3-3, Rockets 2-2. Update: Guard Kevin Martin (19.3 points per game), forward Luis Scola (15.5) and guard Kyle Lowry (13.3) form the core of a Rockets franchise that has slipped since losing to the Lakers in the 2009 Western Conference semifinals. Yao Ming retired after playing in only five games last season and Kevin McHale succeeded Rick Adelman as coach.

Rick Adelman is out as coach of the Houston Rockets. The team announced that the Rockets and Adelman "have mutually agreed to part ways. " Adelman's contract expires on June 30. General Manager Daryl Morey said in a statement Monday night that the decision came after "numerous discussions and careful consideration. " The 64-year-old Adelman went 193-135 in four seasons with the Rockets. The .588 winning percentage was the highest among the 11 full-time coaches the franchise has had. Adelman led the Rockets to their only playoff series victory since 1997.

Jay Triano will not return as the Toronto Raptors' coach next season. The Raptors announced Wednesday that they will not exercise their option on Triano's contract. He will be retained as a consultant and a special assistant to Bryan Colangelo, the team's president and general manager. Triano, an Ontario native, guided the Raptors to a record of 87-142 in his three seasons as coach. The Raptors finished 22-60 this season, last in the Atlantic Division. Frank Hamblen , one of Phil Jackson's top assistant coaches with the Lakers and Chicago Bulls, is a possible candidate to be an assistant coach with the Indiana Pacers, according to NBA officials who could not comment publicly.

The Lakers are slowly reaching out to coaching candidates, contacting Rick Adelman to officially express an interest in him to replace Phil Jackson. The three decision-makers for the Lakers' coaching search — owner Jerry Buss and executives Jim Buss and Mitch Kupchak — continued the gradual momentum from their meeting Tuesday in which they drew up an official list. Former Lakers coach Mike Dunleavy and current Lakers assistant coach Brian Shaw are also candidates. Former Cleveland coach Mike Brown is considered the front-runner for the Golden State coaching job, though the Lakers are somewhat interested in him too. The Lakers aren't in a huge rush.

After leading his team to the NBA finals twice in his three-plus years as coach, Rick Adelman would like a little more job security. Two Western Conference titles and a 193-88 regular-season record hasn't been enough to convince Portland Trail Blazer owner Paul Allen and the team's top management that he deserves a contract extension yet. Adelman has one year left on a three-year deal he was given after leading the Trail Blazers to the finals in 1990.

The Lakers have to fill a very big void now that Coach Phil Jackson is walking away into retirement — again. The decision on the new Lakers coach will be made by owner Jerry Buss, his son Jim Buss, the team's executive vice president of player personnel, and General Manager Mitch Kupchak. The Lakers can only hope this hire turns out better than the last time they replaced Jackson. The Lakers hired Rudy Tomjanovich as coach, but he lasted only 41 games into the 2004-05 season before leaving because of health problems.

Rick Adelman, coach of the Portland Trail Blazers, stands with a benign expression, slouching a little, and insists he can be a disciplinarian. Keep probing him about it and Adelman might get really mad and, oh, raise his voice a bit or sharply arch one of his caterpillar eyebrows. Try as he might to come off as a tough NBA taskmaster, Adelman truly is as calm and unflappable as he appears.

"I don't believe in somebody having our number. Maybe if they had beaten us by 30 again, then I might buy into that." Rick Adelman, Sacramento coach, whose team has lost three of four games to San Antonio this season. The Kings lost Thursday by 10 points four days after losing by 30.

The Lakers have put together a deal to hire former Cleveland Cavaliers coach Mike Brown as their new coach, an NBA official who was not authorized to speak publicly on the matter said late Tuesday. If Brown agrees to the deal, he'll sign a contract worth between $4 million and $4.5 million per season, the official said. Brown would sign for three years, with a team option on the fourth season that would give him partial pay if he was not retained. Brown, 41, became the front-runner because Jim Buss, the team's executive vice president of player personnel, was impressed with his defense-minded style.

The Lakers have yet to pare down a short list of coaching candidates but one thing is certain. The winner of their coaching derby won't make anything remotely close to what Phil Jackson earned the last several years. Jackson topped out at $12 million in 2009-10 before taking a pay cut last season to about $10 million. The new Lakers coach can expect an annual salary of $3 million to $5 million, according to people who are familiar with what the Buss family is thinking.

I begin with a contradiction. I don't think an inexperienced New Yorker like Don Mattingly was the correct choice to be the Dodgers' manager. Still don't. But I'm beginning to think the risk might be one the Lakers should seriously consider when evaluating a very raw Brian Shaw. Here's the problem. I understand why the Lakers' brass might be looking at short-term answers with retreads like Rick Adelman, Mike Dunleavy and Jeff Van Gundy. The Lakers still have expensive three-year deals on the books with Kobe Bryant, Ron Artest, Pau Gasol and Steve Blake; two-year deals remaining with Luke Walton and Derek Fisher.

Please, oh please, Bill Plaschke, convince the Lakers of your wisdom in hiring Jeff Van Gundy. It would be a blessing to those of us who are tired of hearing his sanctimonious, holier-than-thou comments delivered with disdain about the shortcomings of and mistakes made by players. It would also relieve us of hearing the same comment made three times over, as if we weren't savvy enough to have grasped the message the first time it was pronounced from the pulpit. I'd give a bundle to be present the first time he talked to Bryant in that tone of voice.

The Lakers are slowly reaching out to coaching candidates, contacting Rick Adelman to officially express an interest in him to replace Phil Jackson. The three decision-makers for the Lakers' coaching search — owner Jerry Buss and executives Jim Buss and Mitch Kupchak — continued the gradual momentum from their meeting Tuesday in which they drew up an official list. Former Lakers coach Mike Dunleavy and current Lakers assistant coach Brian Shaw are also candidates. Former Cleveland coach Mike Brown is considered the front-runner for the Golden State coaching job, though the Lakers are somewhat interested in him too. The Lakers aren't in a huge rush.

So that truck finally backed up to the loading dock in Lakerdom. In your dreams. Whatever happens won't be as dramatic as the Lakers would like, or as soon. Their future revolves around questions they couldn't answer now if a genie popped out of the water barrel and gave them three wishes. They didn't get old overnight, can't get young by fall — and trying may mean cutting off better options. This isn't a fantasy league or talk radio jocks doing their Queen-of-Hearts off-with-their-heads number, like ESPN 710's Dave Miller, bumped up to community spokesman for an appearance on the mother ship, "SportsCenter.

The Portland Trail Blazers fired Coach Rick Adelman on Thursday after a disappointing season capped by a first-round elimination from the NBA playoffs for the second consecutive year. Second-seeded Houston eliminated Portland, 3-1, in the first round earlier this month. The Trail Blazers finished the regular season with a 47-35 record. Adelman, 47, was 291-154 in five seasons with the Trail Blazers, trailing only Jack Ramsay in victories earned by a Portland coach.

The Lakers have yet to pare down a short list of coaching candidates but one thing is certain. The winner of their coaching derby won't make anything remotely close to what Phil Jackson earned the last several years. Jackson topped out at $12 million in 2009-10 before taking a pay cut last season to about $10 million. The new Lakers coach can expect an annual salary of $3 million to $5 million, according to people who are familiar with what the Buss family is thinking.

The Lakers have to fill a very big void now that Coach Phil Jackson is walking away into retirement — again. The decision on the new Lakers coach will be made by owner Jerry Buss, his son Jim Buss, the team's executive vice president of player personnel, and General Manager Mitch Kupchak. The Lakers can only hope this hire turns out better than the last time they replaced Jackson. The Lakers hired Rudy Tomjanovich as coach, but he lasted only 41 games into the 2004-05 season before leaving because of health problems.

Rick Adelman is out as coach of the Houston Rockets. The team announced that the Rockets and Adelman "have mutually agreed to part ways. " Adelman's contract expires on June 30. General Manager Daryl Morey said in a statement Monday night that the decision came after "numerous discussions and careful consideration. " The 64-year-old Adelman went 193-135 in four seasons with the Rockets. The .588 winning percentage was the highest among the 11 full-time coaches the franchise has had. Adelman led the Rockets to their only playoff series victory since 1997.