Terry Stots is a familiar name among Milwaukee Bucks fans. This is exactly why the supporters had no problem welcoming the 65-year-old with open arms after it was announced that he would be joining new head coach Adrian Griffin’s staff as an assistant.
This will be Stotts’ third stint with the Bucks after serving as an assistant under George Karl between 1998 and 2002, and then as the team’s head coach from 2005 to 2007. The veteran shot-caller’s return to Milwaukee is a welcome development as he looks to provide as much assistance as he can to first-time head coach Adrian Griffin.
Terry Stotts Reveals Vision For Giannis Antetokounmpo Ahead Of New Season
The last time Stotts was with the Bucks, Giannis Antetokounmpo was still a 13-year-old kid in Greece trying to make a name for himself in the local basketball scene. Right now, though, the former back-to-back NBA Most Valuable Player is without a doubt one of the top players on the planet. For his part, Stotts could not be more excited to have the opportunity to coach Giannis to try and help bring out the best in him and the squad:
“It all starts with Giannis and his ability to create opportunities and having shooters around him,” Stotts said, via John Leuzzi of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “Think every team, no matter where you are, you look at your personnel and try to maximize their talents. This is a unique team and that’s why they’ve been in the mix.
“To me, they were the best team in the league last year. Obviously fell short in the playoffs, but coming in and maybe have a few more different ideas and see where we go with that.”
Stotts then provided some insight on how he envisions Giannis’ role with the Bucks this coming season. According to Stotts, Milwaukee will focus on trying to put Antetokounmpo in as many different situations as they can on the offensive end:
“Obviously he’s a great ball handler and can get to the rim, but I think that one of the keys with him will be to put him in different situations as a screener, as a rim runner and as a ball handler,” Stotts said. “He can do so many things, playing off of him (or) playing at the elbow. He’s such a unique player that it affords us the opportunity to do those things.”
Terry Stotts Relishing Opportunity With Milwaukee Bucks
Terry Stotts took a two-year hiatus from coaching in the NBA before agreeing to return as an assistant for the Bucks. In 2021, Stotts saw his nearly decade-long tenure with the Portland Trail Blazers come to an end after the team decided that he was no longer the right man for the job. He was out of the league for an extended period, but now that he’s back, Stotts is just relishing the opportunity to coach again — particularly for a team that he has a long and meaningful history:
“It’s pretty special not only professionally but personally,” Stotts said.
“It’s a great opportunity,” Stotts said. “To come into a situation like Milwaukee with a championship team and championship aspirations in a city that I have a lot of fond memories (is great) and the opportunity to work with Coach Griff, who’s got a great vision for the team and the roster, I couldn’t have asked for a better situation to come back to.”
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