Warriors coach Steve Kerr took over last week with two openings on his staff that were officially filled on Monday, with veteran coach Terry Stotts and former NBA All-Star Jerry Stackhouse joining Golden State.
Both are expected to join Kerr on the front bench, according to multiple league sources, with Chris Weems remaining on the staff to fill the third and final spot. Weems was promoted to the front bench last summer after Jama Mahalelela was traded to the Toronto Raptors.
The additions mean that longtime assistant Bruce “Q” Frazier, known for his close relationship with the team’s superstar Stephen Curry, will return to the No. 2 bench after three seasons at forward.
Stotts, 66, has 13 years of head coaching experience, most recently spending nine seasons with the Portland Trail Blazers. After two seasons away from the NBA, he returned last summer as an assistant to first-year Milwaukee Bucks coach Adrian Griffin. A rift between the two led to Stotts’ resignation a week before the season began.
Stotts will effectively take over the top assistant role vacated last week when Kenny Atkinson became head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Stackhouse, 49, a two-time All-Star, retired from the NBA in 2013 and turned to coaching. He coached with the Raptors for three seasons, the last two as head coach of the G-League team. He then spent one year (2018-19) as an assistant to J.B. Bickerstaff with the Memphis Grizzlies before taking the head coaching job at Vanderbilt University. He spent five seasons with the Commodores before being fired last season after going 9-23.
The spot on Stackhouse’s staff became available following the sudden death in February of assistant Dejan “Deki” Milojevic, who worked almost exclusively with Golden State’s big men and was one of the backbench assistants.
Kerr initially did not anticipate making any major staff changes, but once it became clear that Atkinson was leaving, he decided to hire two coaches with previous head coaching experience.
The general response is that the Warriors should have a stronger personnel next season, given Stotts’ extensive experience and Stackhouse’s strong-willed attitude.
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