The Milwaukee Bucks hired well-regarded international coach Trevor Gleeson as an assistant coach on Adrian Griffin's staff, Griffin said on Wednesday.

Since the unexpected departure of assistant Terry Stotts in the preseason, Griffin and the Bucks have been searching to replace him with a veteran presence and landed on Gleeson, who spent the previous two years with Griffin on the Toronto Raptors coaching staff.

Gleeson won five championships for the Perth Wildcats in Australia's NBL, earning a strong reputation on the offensive end.

"We were in a little bit short-handed, one of the staffs with the least amount of coaches so we thought it would be beneficial to bring someone on," Griffin told reporters before the Bucks game against the Brooklyn Nets. "I worked with Trevor in Toronto, just had a lot of respect for him."

The Bucks are 22-8 in Griffin's first season as a head coach, second in the Eastern Conference behind the Boston Celtics.

ESPN's Jamal Collier and Kane Pittman contributed to this report.