Jun 30, 2015
Raptors to add Stackhouse to coaching staff
The Toronto Raptors are finalizing an agreement to hire 18-year NBA veteran Jerry Stackhouse as an assistant coach, and are expected to make the addition official later this week or next, sources told TSN.ca on Tuesday.
TORONTO - The Toronto Raptors are finalizing an agreement to hire 18-year NBA veteran Jerry Stackhouse as an assistant coach, and are expected to make the addition official later this week or next, sources told TSN.ca on Tuesday.
Stackhouse will fill out Dwane Casey's remodelled staff for next season, joining former Oklahoma City lead assistant Rex Kalamian, who has also agreed to sign on with Toronto.
The Raptors have long coveted a tough, well-respected former player to complement their coaching team, even kicking the tires on a few back in 2013 when Masai Ujiri was hired and first overhauled Casey's staff. The Toronto Star first reported Toronto's interest in Stackhouse last month.
Ujiri opted to keep Casey on after a disappointing end to last season that saw the Raptors swept from the playoffs in the first round, deciding instead to part ways with a couple of his assistants - Bill Bayno and Tom Sterner, the lone holdover from that 2013 staff.
Casey, in collaboration with Ujiri, worked to recruit Stackhouse and Kalamian, both of whom he has a history with. Casey, then an assistant with the Mavericks, coached Stackhouse briefly in Dallas towards the end of his playing career. He also worked with Kalamian in Minnesota.
Stackhouse, 40, played for eight teams in his 18 NBA seasons. The guard/forward and two-time all-star has career averages of 16.9 points, 3.2 rebounds and 3.3 assists with 75 games of playoff experience. Drafted third overall out of North Carolina in 1995, this will be Stackhouse's first NBA coaching gig since retiring following the 2012-13 campaign. He coached the USA select team at the annual Adidas EuroCamp in Treviso, Italy, last summer and has recently been involved in the AAU circuit in Toronto.
With almost two decades of NBA coaching experience, Kalamian has spent the last six seasons working under Scott Brooks in Oklahoma City, where he was responsible for the Thunder's offence, game preparation and player development.
Both Stackhouse and Kalamian are expected to be with the Raptors' staff for the Summer League, beginning July 10 in Las Vegas. Toronto is also expected to announce the head coach of their new D-League team, Raptors 905, in the next two weeks.