This is not exactly the news Milwaukee Bucks fans expected to see while enjoying their coffee.
According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Bucks assistant coach Terry Stotts is stepping down. Stotts, a long-time head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers, joined Adrian Griffin’s coaching staff this past off-season as an assistant. Now, the Bucks have lost a crucial cog in their staff with the new season rapidly approaching, raising many questions.
Reaction and Analysis: Bucks lose assistant Stotts, who is stepping down
Above all else, let’s just hope that Stotts is doing well at this time. No reason was given for Stotts’ decision to step down, and that’s fine. If something is going on behind the scenes, we all hope that he can get through whatever is potentially going on.
On the basketball side of things, this is a pretty big blow for the Bucks. While it’s not catastrophic, it’s clear that Stotts was brought in for his expertise on offense, which would help first-year head coach and defensive-minded leader Adrian Griffin. Stotts engineered his share of excellent teams offensively with the Blazers, and the hope was that he could do the same for the Bucks.
On top of that, Stotts has a background in coaching Damain Lillard, as the two worked together in Portland for years. Stotts was expected to help get Lillard into the swing of things and put him in a position to succeed through his schemes and ideas. Lillard doesn’t need Stotts to be successful, but it certainly wouldn’t have hurt to have that familiarity there.
With the new season less than a week away from kicking off, this is a pretty big loss for the Bucks and the coaching staff. It will now be interesting to see where they go from here and whether they pursue another offensive-minded guru to fill the void with Stotts out. Again, with the new season on the horizon, it puts the team in a bit of a time crunch to find a replacement.
Updates will follow on where the Milwaukee Bucks decide to go from here.
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