The Miami Heat have hired Keith Smart as an assistant coach and Chris Quinn as an assistant and player development coach, reports Yahoo! Sports’ Marc J. Spears.
Former Sacramento Kings head coach Keith Smart has plenty of experience as an assistant. He was an assistant coach with the Cleveland Cavaliers for three years until he was made the team’s head coach for 40 games during the 2002-2003 NBA season. He, then, moved on to work as an assistant for the Golden State Warriors for seven long years. The Warriors also made Smart a head coach, but it was only for one season.
Smart was later hired by the Sacramento Kings as an assistant coach to Paul Westphal for the 2011-2012 season, but Westphal was fired after 7 games, and Smart was named the interim coach. The Kings kept Smart for the 2012-2013 season but replaced him the season after with Mike Malone, who is still the current coach of the Kings.
Chris Quinn, the former Miami Heat player from 2006 to 2010, will get his first shot as an assistant coach. However, he was hired last year to serve as a player development coach for the Northwestern Wildcats of the NCAA.
Moreover, David Fizdale and Juwan Howard will continue to serve as assistant coaches for the Miami Heat. Howard joined the staff last season after retiring from the Heat in 2013. Fizdale has been with the team since 2008.