July 2, 2004

Portland Trail Blazers Director of Player Programs, Jerome Kersey, resigned today to become an assistant coach with the Milwaukee Bucks. Kersey will rejoin former teammate Terry Porter in Milwaukee. Porter became head coach of the Bucks prior to the start of the 2003-04 season.

“I would like to thank Steve Patterson and the entire Trail Blazers family,” said Kersey. “It was wonderful to come back to the place where I began my NBA career and had so many successes. It has been a very satisfying year as Director of Player Programs and I believe the organization is definitely moving in the right direction. However, I have a great desire to become a coach and welcome this new opportunity and challenge. It is very special to me to be able to follow a dream, especially with a chance to once again team with Terry (Porter).”

Kersey returned to the Trail Blazers last season as the team’s first Director of Player Programs. The position was established to help implement the organization’s goal of overall player development by providing support on and off the court for every member of the team.

“Jerome was a great fit for the franchise and we are sad to see him go,” said Trail Blazers President Steve Patterson. “But I understand dreams and I know that it was Jerome’s dream to move to the bench. With a roster loaded with young players, the role of Director of Player Programs is as important as any in basketball operations and is crucial for the Trail Blazers long-term success. In the very near future, we will begin a search to fill the position.”

Kersey was a starter during the three-year run from 1990-92 when Portland was in the Western Conference Finals all three years and registered a combined regular season record of 179-67 (.728 winning percentage). After being taken by Toronto in the 1995 expansion draft, he played six more seasons in the NBA with Golden State, the L.A. Lakers, Seattle, San Antonio and Milwaukee before retiring after the 2000-01 season. Kersey earned an NBA championship ring as a member of the Spurs 1999 title team.

Selected by Portland in the second round (46th pick overall) in the 1984 draft out of Longwood College in Virginia, Kersey averaged 12.1 ppg and 6.1 rpg in 831 games as a Trail Blazer. He ranks second all-time in games played and rebounds (5,078), third in blocked shots (621) and steals (1,059), fourth in points (10,067) and eighth in assists (1,762). During his 17-year NBA career, Kersey played in 1,153 games and averaged 10.3 ppg.

During his playing days in Portland, Kersey was integral in building the relationship between the Trail Blazers and the Boys and Girls Clubs of Portland. His involvement helped paved the way for the construction of a modern building on Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd, the Blazers Boys and Girls Club, the first in the nation to be sponsored by an NBA team.