Warriors coach Steve Kerr entered the team last week with two vacancies on his coaching staff. They were officially filled Monday, with veteran coach Terry Stotts and former NBA All-Star Jerry Stackhouse coming to Golden State.
Both are expected to join Kerr on the bench, with Chris Weems remaining on the roster and filling the third and final spot, according to multiple league sources. Weems was promoted to the bench last summer after Jama Mahlalela took a job with the Toronto Raptors.
The additions bring veteran assistant Bruce “Q” Frazier, mostly known for his close affiliation with team star Stephen Curry, back to the bench after three seasons at the forefront.
Stotts, 66, has 13 years of coaching experience, most recently with the Portland Trail Blazers. After two seasons away from the NBA, he returned last summer as an assistant to Adrian Griffin with the Milwaukee Bucks. A falling out between the two led to Stotts resigning a week before the start of the season.
Stotts effectively takes over the top assistant position that became vacant last week when Kenny Atkinson accepted the head coaching job with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Stackhouse, 49, is a two-time All-Star who moved into coaching after retiring in 2013. He spent three seasons coaching with the Raptors, the last two as their head coach in the G League. He then spent a year (2018-19) as an assistant to J.B. Bickerstaff with the Memphis Grizzlies before leaving to become head coach at Vanderbilt. He spent five seasons with the Commodores but was fired after they finished 9-23 last season.
Stackhouse’s place on the coaching staff came after the sudden death of assistant Dejan “Dickie” Milojevic in February. Milojevic, who worked almost exclusively with Golden State’s big players, was among the assistants on the bench.
Kerr initially did not expect any major changes to the coaching staff, but when it became clear that Atkinson would leave he decided to go with two coaches with previous experience in the team.
With Stotts’ vast experience and Stackhouse’s strong demeanor, the general reaction is that the Warriors should have a stronger roster next season.
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