RealGM

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- As his 23rd season as an NBA coach entered the home stretch, Rick Adelman looked tired.

Tired of trying to wring a few more wins out of a talented, defensively deficient roster. Tired of getting on an airplane at midnight after a game and landing somewhere across the country at 3 a.m. Tired, most of all, of putting his wife Mary Kay and her lingering health issues second to a job that, when done right, is all-consuming.

So when he finally decided to step away, announcing his retirement from the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday, he did so with mixed feelings about the pressure-cooker life he is leaving behind and the one that awaits him.

''It becomes your life, your family's life, an everyday routine,'' Adelman said of the NBA. ''It's a real grind. You get some time off in the summer but it's pretty much on your mind all the time, so there's some sadness but there's also a relief. I'm ready and my wife's ready to move on to another phase. We're looking forward to that.''