While they finished with the best record in the league last season, the Milwaukee Bucks are a completely different team heading into the 2023-24 NBA season. Damian Lillard has joined Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton in this franchise's pursuit of another title, and Mike Budenholzer was replaced by former Toronto Raptors assistant coach Adrian Griffin on the sidelines.
Griffin, who enters his first season as a head coach in the league, is looking to keep Milwaukee as a real championship threat in the Eastern Conference for many years to come. This is the main reason why he filled out his coaching staff with experienced, veteran coaches. One of these coaches was Terry Stotts, who coached Lillard and the Portland Trail Blazers for nine seasons, posting a 402-318 career record.
Although the 2023-24 season is under a week away and despite being reunited with Dame on a different team, Stotts has decided to step down from his position with the team, first reported by ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.
🚨 BREAKING: Terry Stotts has stepped down as an assistant coach with the Milwaukee Bucks, per @wojespn.
Stotts joined Adrian Griffin's coaching staff back in June. pic.twitter.com/mqbOdair9V
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) October 19, 2023
After spending the last two seasons away from the NBA, Stotts decided in June to make a return and join Griffin's staff. No details have been given as to why Stotts decided to step away at this point, especially with the Bucks getting ready for their season-opener.
An offensive-minded head coach during his time with the Blazers, Stotts was expected to help run the team's offense over the course of the 2023-24 season. With Lillard now being on the Bucks, Milwaukee's offense figured to resemble that of Portland's when Stotts and Lillard were together.
After 11 years with the Blazers, Dame now finds himself on a new team for the first time in his NBA career. While this transition was obviously difficult for the seven-time All-Star, the familiarity he had with Stotts made the first few weeks a lot smoother than imagined.
With Stotts gone, it will be interesting to see how Lillard and the Bucks enter the 2023-24 season.
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