Already down Chris Finch and Sergio Scariolo in the last six months, the Raptors will now need to replace another assistant coach before the 2021-22 season rolls around. Per The Athletic, Jama Mahlalela — a front-row assistant for the Raptors this past season who recently served as Raptors 905’s head coach for two years — has been hired to join a revamped Golden State Warriors staff.
Mahlalela joins Kenny Atkinson among the recent round of Warriors hires, and with both coaches having deep roots in player development, it’s hard not to see these moves as a bit of a waving of the white flag on the Warriors flailing attempts to drum up a trade market for last year’s second-overall pick James Wiseman.