Former Trail Blazers coach Terry Stotts is leaving now that the Bucks landed former Blazers star Damian Lillard.
Per Eric Nehm of The Athletic, Stotts is stepping down shortly after taking the position.
Stotts, 65, joined new coach Adrian Griffin‘s staff in Milwaukee just four months ago. He served as Bucks head coach for parts of two seasons from 2005-07 and as an assistant from 1998-2002.
Stotts coached the Blazers for nine seasons, leading them to the playoffs in each of his final eight. Overall, he is an impressive 1,003-507 in 13 seasons with the Blazers, Bucks and Hawks.
Sources say the decision to step down is a mystery, though few believe it had anything to do with Lillard. The two were said to have a strong relationship.
“It’s all familiar. That’s a positive,” Lillard recently told Nehm about Stotts. “Coming to a new situation and having a staff be new as well and being as familiar as I am with Terry, I recognize a lot of what he wants to accomplish with the sets that he wants to run. I recognize the sets themselves, so I’m familiar with how I can make plays and put guys in a position to do what they need to do and also where I can find myself within that, so it’s been really smooth, actually.”
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