Last week, Warriors coach Steve Kerr had to fill two openings on his coaching staff. On Monday, the Golden State team officially filled both positions with veteran coach Terry Stotts and former NBA All-Star player Jerry Stackhouse. They are expected to join Kerr on the front bench, with Kris Weems remaining on staff and filling the final spot.
Stotts, 66, brings 13 years of head-coaching experience to the Warriors after returning to the NBA last summer as an assistant for the Milwaukee Bucks after two seasons away. However, discord between Stotts and head coach Adrian Griffin led to Stotts resigning just before the season started. He now fills the top assistant role that was left vacant when Kenny Atkinson became the head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Stackhouse, 49, is a two-time All-Star who transitioned into coaching after retiring in 2013. He coached for three seasons with the Toronto Raptors and then spent a year as an assistant in Memphis before becoming the head coach at Vanderbilt. Stackhouse was fired from that position after the team finished 9-23 last season. He joins the Warriors coaching staff due to the sudden passing of assistant Dejan “Deki” Milojević in February, who worked primarily with the team’s big men.
Kerr initially did not expect significant changes to his coaching staff but decided to bring in two coaches with previous head-coaching experience due to Atkinson’s departure. With Stotts’ extensive experience and Stackhouse’s strong personality, Kerr believes that he will have a stronger coaching staff next season.
