Stunning Resignation In Milwaukee After Shocking "Incident" At Practice

It "came out of nowhere" as Damian Lillard said. Milwaukee Bucks assistant coach Terry Stotts, Lillard's former head coach with the Portland Trail Blazers, shockingly resigned his role in Milwaukee, just a few months after taking the job. 

Shams Charania of The Athletic is reporting that an incident at practice is likely what precipitated the resignation, after new head coach Adrian Griffin shouted at Stotts in front of the whole team. 

According to sources who witnessed the events, Griffin wrapped up the shootaround and called the team together for a huddle to close out the day and let the players get to post-shootaround shooting drills. During that huddle, Griffin informed the coaches that he wanted to have a separate huddle with them once they wrapped things up. 

When the players and coaches broke the huddle, Stotts went in the opposite direction of the coaches’ huddle and instead started walking toward players to discuss the offense. As Stotts attempted to start a conversation with Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmpo, Griffin called to Stotts to join the coaching huddle. When Stotts asked for some time with the players, Griffin yelled for Stotts to join the coaches’ huddle. The incident occurred in front of the entire team, those sources said.

Stotts, 65, is a 13-year head coaching veteran in the NBA, and just as many years as an assistant. He had a 517-486 record as a head coach, with the Atlanta Hawks (2002-04), Bucks (2005-07) and Trail Blazers (2012-21).

Griffin, on the other hand, is starting his very first head coaching job in the NBA after being an assistant for 15 years, the last five with the Toronto Raptors. 

Charania surmises two possible explanations for the fracture in the relationship between Stotts and Griffin: 

"(Stotts's) potential difficulty adapting to a bench role under Griffin after more than a decade as a head coach, and the other being a certain treatment and level of respect that needed to be shown to someone with Stotts’ pedigree."

It's an awkward situation, but not likely one that the Bucks, led by Giannis Antetonkoumpo and Lillard, can't overcome. 

Photo: Jonathan Hui-USA TODAY Sports