The lead assistant returns.
During Steve Kerr’s rein as leader of the Golden State Warriors, the team has seen a lot of their assistant coaches poached for opportunities elsewhere. Respected coaches like Mike Brown, Kenny Atkinson, and Alvin Gentry, among many others, have left the team’s sideline when a better opportunity arrived.
That will probably happen to Terry Stotts one day. But today is not that day.
There were rumors that the New York Knicks, who recently hired Brown as their head coach, were gearing up to make a run at Stotts for one of their assistant roles. But according to Knicks reporter Ian Begley, that isn’t going to happen, as Stotts is committed to his Warriors job for the upcoming 2025-26 NBA season.
You can take GSW’s Terry Stotts off of any speculative list of candidates for Mike Brown’s coaching staff. Per league sources familiar with the matter, Stotts doesn’t plan on going anywhere, will be back with the Warriors in 2025-26.
— Ian Begley (@IanBegley) July 22, 2025
It’s certainly a sensible move for Stotts. Switching teams as an assistant doesn’t come with a lot of benefits, and he has a secure and influential role on the Warriors, where he can likely stay as long as he wants. I’d be surprised if Stotts leaves the Dubs unless it’s for a head coaching opportunity, though it would seem likely that he’ll get one of those at some point in the near future. He was very successful during his nine-year run as head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers, and seemed to be fired more as a fall guy than due to anything involving his performance. He’s a highly-respected coach, and it’s inevitable that he’ll be in line for a top job again someday.
But that’s down the road. For now, he’s staying in San Francisco, where he can be the lead assistant and help design an offense to flow around Steph Curry and Jimmy Butler III. Not a bad life, if you ask me.