Warriors coach Steve Kerr entered last week with two openings on his staff. Both officially were filled Monday, with veteran coach Terry Stotts and former NBA All-Star player Jerry Stackhouse coming to Golden State.
Both are expected to join Kerr on the front bench, with Kris Weems remaining on staff and filling the third and final spot, according to multiple league sources. Weems was promoted to the front bench last summer after Jama Mahlalela took a job with the Toronto Raptors.
The additions move longtime assistant Bruce “Q” Fraser, known mostly for his close affiliation with team superstar Stephen Curry, back to the second bench after three seasons up front.
Stotts, 66, brings 13 years of head-coaching experience, most recently for nine seasons with the Portland Trail Blazers. After two seasons away from the NBA, he returned last summer as an assistant for first-year coach Adrian Griffin with the Milwaukee Bucks. Discord between the two led to Stotts resigning one week before the season opened.
Stotts effectively moves into the top assistant role vacated last week when Kenny Atkinson accepted the job as head coach of 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 head coach of their G League team. He then spent a year (2018-19) as an assistant to J.B. Bickerstaff with the Memphis Grizzlies before departing 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 spot on the staff was created by the sudden death of assistant Dejan “Deki” Milojević in February. Milojević, who worked almost exclusively with Golden State’s big men, was among the assistants on the back bench.
Kerr initially did not anticipate substantial staff changes, but once it became apparent that Atkinson would leave decided to go with two coaches that come with previous head-coaching experience.
With Stotts’ deep reservoir of experience and Stackhouse’s strong-willed demeanor, the general reaction is that the Warriors should have a stronger staff next season.
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