Terry Stotts reportedly had incident with Adrian Griffin before Bucks resignation

Jan 20, 2020; Portland, Oregon, USA; Portland Trail Blazers head coach Terry Stotts watches from the sideline during the first half at Moda Center. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports

Terry Stotts’ sudden resignation from the Milwaukee Bucks apparently came after some notable internal drama.

Shams Charania of The Athletic reported Thursday about the circumstances surrounding Stotts’ departure. News broke earlier in the day that Stotts had surprisingly decided to step down from his role as a Bucks assistant coach mere months after he came aboard.

Charania reports that Stotts had an incident with Bucks head coach Adrian Griffin after a team shootaround in Oklahoma City on Tuesday prior to their preseason game against the Thunder. Griffin reportedly tried to organize a coaches’ huddle, but Stotts apparently went towards the players instead in an attempt to discuss the offense with Milwaukee stars Damian Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmpo. Griffin called for Stotts to join the coaches’ huddle, Charania adds, but when Stotts asked for time with the players, Griffin then yelled at him to join the coaches’ huddle. The incident is said to have taken place in full view of the entire team.

The report from Charania notes that the overall relationship between the 49-year-old Griffin, a rookie head coach, and the 65-year-old Stotts, who has over a decade of head coaching experience and nearly two decades more of assistant experience, was “tenuous.” You can read the report in full here.

Griffin was asked by reporters on Thursday about Stotts’ sudden departure and indicated that he was caught off-guard by the development, saying, “You’re going to have to ask Terry.”

Bucks coach Adrian Griffin tells reporters that he was caught off guard by Terry Stott’s decision to step down.

“You’re going to have to ask Terry…It was his decision.”

— Eric Nehm (@eric_nehm) October 19, 2023

Stotts was the head coach for the Portland Trail Blazers, Lillard’s former team, from 2012-21. The Bucks assistant gig, which Stotts took in late June, was his first job since then. Stotts is a generally respected coach who drew a lot of interest for NBA head coaching positions even after getting let go by Portland. It is possible that a combination of friction with Griffin and the realization that he did not want to go back to being a second-in-command led Stotts to resign from Milwaukee.