Former NBA star Jerry Stackhouse is nearing a deal that will make him the newest assistant on Dwane Casey’s coaching staff, according to multiple reports, including from Sportsnet’s Michael Grange:
This comes one day after Masai Ujiri added former Oklahoma City Thunder assistant Rex Kalamian to Casey’s staff.
The Raptors have been rumoured to be looking for a former NBA player to fill one of their vacant assistant coaching jobs—something they didn’t have behind the bench last season—and Stackhouse, an 18 year-vet and two-time All-Star, certainly fits the bill.
On his twitter account (@jerrystackhouse), he currently follows 1,066 people— the six most recent being Amir Johnson, Lucas Nogueira, Bruno Caboclo, James Johnson, Delon Wright, and Kyle Lowry. Just sayin’…
Stackhouse already has ties to the Greater Toronto Area, after establishing his own AAU club basketball team, Stackhouse Elite, back in March.
Casey was an assistant with the Dallas Mavericks while Stackhouse was on the team during the 2008-09 season. Stackhouse, meanwhile last coached the Team USA select squad last summer.
The 40-year old last played in the NBA in 2012-13 with the Brooklyn Nets and has been in broadcasting since. He does not have NBA coaching experience, but he does bring with him both a former players’ perspective and something of a mean streak, which the Raptors could certainly use.
Check out Stack recalling his fighting days as a player, including the time he gave Christian Laettner a black eye:
And, according to one source, he “was a former vegetarian, but is now back to eating meat.” So there’s that.
The Raptors have yet to announce their coaching staff for the upcoming Summer League in Las Vegas, though traditionally that’s a useful forum to get assistant coaches more experience behind the bench.
