May 11, 2006

Only in the NBA can a coach get dumber as the years go by.

That's right, think about it. How can a guy with a resume like Rick Adelman's get fired? He led the franchise to eight straight playoff berths. Adelman was the most successful coach in the team's history and earlier during his leadership Sacramento won 50 or more games in five consecutive seasons.

Yet he gets the ziggy.

What is it coming down to? Ownership and management have the right to make a decision, but there is no way in the world Adelman deserved to lose his job. It is totally ridiculous. He is fifth in victories among the winningest active coaches in the league with 752 wins. Only Phil Jackson, Pat Riley, Jerry Sloan and Larry Brown have more wins. Despite numerous injuries, Adelman led the Kings to the playoffs with a 44-38 record this season. Sacramento also made several changes, including the addition of Ron Artest, and the team still adjusted its team chemistry and made the postseason.

Sacramento really challenged San Antonio, perhaps the best team in the NBA, going six games in the opening round. That wasn't good enough, and the Kings ownership and management said good-bye! That is your reward in pro basketball these days.

Life in the NBA … you can be Coach of the Year one season and out on the unemployment line the next. It is absolutely amazing and ludicrous because coaches bust their gut and deserve every dollar they get. The bottom line is they constantly sit on that fence, being hired to eventually get fired. It is all about what have you done for me lately.

For working hard and succeeding for eight seasons, Adelman got a pink slip. My friends, there is something very wrong with that. I wish Sacramento all the luck in the world, but it won't be easy finding a coach with better credentials over the last eight seasons.

Dick Vitale coached the Pistons and the University of Detroit before broadcasting ESPN's first college basketball game in 1979. Send a question for Vitale for possible use on ESPNEWS.