Rick Adelman: Houston Rockets Coach Let Go by Les Alexander

In a turn of events that had been predicted by numerous media outlets for weeks, the Houston Rockets have relieved Rick Adelman of coaching duties and will look elsewhere for a new coach.

Adelman, the holder of the all-time best winning percentage of any Rockets coach and the eighth winningest coach in NBA history, reportedly agreed to a mutual split with the Rockets' front office after a number of disagreements over playing time for certain players.

After a number of moderately successful years as a coach with the Rockets, Adelman will now find himself at the top of any team's list of potential coaching targets. While he was barely above .500 the last two years, every year his team managed to outperform expectations and his offensive talent has never been questioned.

In a field of perhaps a dozen or so teams that could potentially be looking for new coaches this offseason, two teams stick out: the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers.

With coaches potentially headed for retirement, both teams will likely look to hire Adelman and could even enter into a bidding war for the sought after coach.

For the Rockets, the move represents a commitment to a rebuilding effort that begin this season.

After going to the media and publicly criticizing several midseason trades, Adelman tightened up his rotations and played the players he was most comfortable with, robbing players like Terrence Williams and Hasheem Thabeet of playing time.

While Adelman's policy of forcing young players to earn playing time has typically yielded good results for players, Daryl Morey and Les Alexander apparently expected each of those young guys to get some time on the court so they could develop, something Adelman rarely did.

For now, Adelman appears to simply be a man in the wrong place at the wrong time. He coached his team admirably, leading a horribly undersized and weak defensive team to solid records for two years in a row, but a split with the front office spelled the end of his tenure with the Rockets.

With Adelman out of the picture, the next move for the Rockets will be to look for a new coach.

Early on in the process, Mike Brown, Mike Budenholzer, both Van Gundy brothers and Lawrence Frank are being mentioned as the presumptive front runners for the position, although assistants Jack Sikma and Elston Turner will also be interviewed.

While a Jeff Van Gundy return may be unlikely due to the circumstances surrounding his departure, he is gaining steam as a fan favorite due to his strong defensive roots.

Whoever becomes the Rockets coach, they will have some big shoes to fill. While the move makes sense in that it helps solidify the Rockets' direction, it is hard to see such an accomplished and classy man leave Houston.