Damian Lillard’s old coach suddenly decides to resign from Bucks

Oct 2, 2023; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Milwaukee Bucks guard Damian Lillard (0) poses for a picture during media day in Milwaukee. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports

Damian Lillard’s reunion with his former head coach will end up being an extremely brief one.

ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported on Thursday that Milwaukee Bucks assistant Terry Stotts has decided to step down from his position. The move come as a surprise as Stotts had just joined the Bucks in late June, marking the end of a two-year coaching hiatus.

The 65-year-old Stotts was famously Lillard’s coach on the Portland Trail Blazers for nine seasons from 2012-21. It was a successful partnership in which Portland made the playoffs in eight of those years, won two division titles and advanced to the conference finals in 2019. Stotts was ultimately fired by the Blazers after the 2020-21 season however.

Eric Nehm of The Athletic notes that Stotts’ role in Milwaukee was to help run the offense alongside more defensive-minded rookie head coach Adrian Griffin. In fact, Lillard, just traded to the Bucks weeks ago, had mentioned how Stotts’ presence in Milwaukee would help ease his own transition.

Dame on adapting to Bucks offense 5 days ago

"It'll be smooth…There’s a lot of things that are familiar. I've played w/ Terry [Stotts] for 9yrs. A lot of stuff we put in is stuff I've done for a long time. So it's simple for me. I understand it. I know where to find myself” 🥴 https://t.co/duCYo7m0Vu pic.twitter.com/Cro1W4OFh4

— Dru (@dru_star) October 19, 2023

It is not yet clear why Stotts has decided to resign or if he will be continuing with the Bucks in a different role. But this development marks yet another tough break for Lillard over the last several weeks.