Mahlalela leaving for spot with Raptors
Little more than two weeks after Bob Myers announced his intention to step down as general manager, the Golden State Warriors are poised to lose a key member of their coaching staff.
Jama Mahlalela, the team’s director of player development, is leaving the Warriors to become a top assistant for the Toronto Raptors, a league source confirmed with The Chronicle. ESPN was first to report the news.
Mahlalela’s departure is a significant blow for a Warriors team trying to vault back into title contention despite an aging roster and massive luxury tax. An underrated force behind Golden State’s 2022 NBA title, he was promoted last summer to a front-of-bench role after Mike Brown left to become the Sacramento Kings’ head coach.
In addition to overseeing the Warriors’ player-development program this past season, Mahlalela, 43, handled their substitution patterns. He also has been lauded for his skills work with Andrew Wiggins, Gary Payton II and Jonathan Kuminga.
Steve Kerr recently compared Mahlalela’s role to a chief of staff. A hands-on mentor, he helped bring along the organization’s young coaches and executives.
Given that Kerr had pursued Mahlalela hard when restructuring the Warriors’ staff in spring 2021, he might have a tough time seeing Mahlalela leave for the only other NBA franchise for which he has worked. Mahlalela spent more than a decade with the Raptors, climbing from entry-level staffer to valued assistant.
His work with Pascal Siakam, OG Anunoby and Fred VanVleet earned him a reputation as one of the league’s foremost player-development coaches. While with the Raptors, Mahlalela became involved with Giants of Africa, a nonprofit founded by Raptors President Masai Ujiri that works to improve the basketball infrastructure in that continent.
Thursday’s news marks a bit of a homecoming for Mahlalela, who spent most of his childhood in Toronto and worked for four seasons (2004-08) as an assistant for the University of Toronto. He will work under new Toronto head coach Darko Rajakovic. Washington assistant Pat Delany also reportedly will be a top assistant in Toronto.
The Warriors can take some comfort in the fact that they still have assistant Kenny Atkinson. After reportedly interviewing for multiple head coaching jobs in recent weeks, he is expected to return to Kerr’s staff.