The Charlotte Bobcats today named Ralph Lewis, Charles Oakley and Stephen Silas as assistant coaches on the staff of Interim Head Coach Paul Silas.
“It was important to me to quickly put together a staff that I feel comfortable with and one that mirrors my coaching philosophy and can immediately make an impact on this team in a positive way,” said Silas. “Ralph Lewis brings experience as both a player and a coach, and Stephen has been part of my staffs on a few of my NBA stints.  I’ve always admired Charles Oakley and I feel his overall experience as a competitor and his mental toughness will only enhance our preparations.”
Lewis played professionally for 10 years, including three seasons in the NBA with the Pistons and Hornets.  He served as assistant coach of the Huntsville Flight during the inaugural season of the NBA Development League in 2001-02 before becoming head coach from 2002-05.  During his three seasons as head coach, the Flight compiled a 73-71 record and made consecutive playoff appearances in 2003-04 and 2004-05.  Lewis went on to serve as an assistant coach for the SuperSonics/Thunder from 2005-09.  In addition to his playing and coaching experience, Lewis has worked as an executive in the human resources and healthcare fields.
A 19-year NBA veteran, Oakley comes to the bench as an assistant coach for the first time.  During his NBA career, he averaged 9.7 points and 9.5 rebounds in 1,282 games played for Chicago, New York, Toronto, Washington and Houston.  In addition to being selected for the 1994 Eastern Conference All-Star Team, his playing honors include being named to the All-Rookie First Team in 1985-86, All-Defensive First Team in 1993-94 and All-Defensive Second Team in 1997-98.  Oakley, who led the league in rebounds in both 1986-87 and 1987-88, currently ranks 20th on the NBA’s all-time rebounding list (12,205), while also ranking ninth all-time in offensive rebounds (3,924) and 13th in defensive rebounds (8,281).  In addition, his 1,282 games played is the 14th-best total in NBA history.
In his 10th season as an assistant coach, Stephen Silas joins the Bobcats from the Golden State Warriors, where he has been as an assistant coach since 2006.  Prior to that, he was an assistant coach on his father’s staffs with the Hornets from 2000-03 and the Cavaliers from 2003-05.  Silas has also served as head coach for Summer League entries for the Hornets (2002), Cavaliers (2003) and Warriors (2010).  In addition to his coaching roles, Silas was an advance scout for the Hornets in 1999-2000 and the Wizards in 2005-06.