Chris Quinn appreciative of his Heat promotion: ‘I don’t take it for granted’

What has been the case for the last few seasons is now official: The Miami Heat promoted Chris Quinn this past offseason from assistant coach to associate head coach.

“It was really a formality,” Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra said this week regarding Quinn’s new title. “He’s been the associate head coach now for three or four years. So it’s just a formality of giving him the official title.”

For Quinn — the longest-tenured assistant coach on the Heat’s staff — the new title is meaningful.

“It means a lot,” Quinn said, with the Heat in the Bahamas through Saturday for training camp at Baha Mar. “Obviously, the title is one thing. But the responsibility that comes along with it, also my pride in the organization, my pride in working for Micky [Arison] and Pat [Riley] and ultimately for Spo, it means a lot to me. I don’t take it for granted how lucky I am to be in the position I am, and also it’s a huge responsibility for me to keep moving in the right direction.”

Nassir Little explains why he bet on himself and signed with Heat: ‘They wanted me the most’

Quinn, 41, is entering his 11th season as a Heat coach. Along with being the longest-tenured assistant on Spoelstra’s coaching staff, Quinn has played a major role in the Heat’s highly regarded player development program.

Quinn also played for the Heat, as the six-year NBA guard was signed by Miami as a free agent during the 2006 offseason. He appeared in 168 games (26 starts) with the Heat over three-plus seasons from 2006 to 10, playing for both Riley and Spoelstra.

“When I got done playing, I really wasn’t sure,” Quinn said when asked if the plan was always for him to get into coaching. “I spent a transition year in college at Northwestern, which was awesome for me to kind of start to learn what coaching was really about. I think as players, you think you have an idea, but you don’t really know the ins and outs of the coaching profession.

“Year by year, I think it’s more exciting. It’s exciting for me to try to improve on my craft as a coach, improve how I work with our staff, but ultimately how I serve our players. It’s definitely been a fun journey just to try to get better year by year.”

Quinn even served as the Heat’s acting head coach for three games that Spoelstra was not available for during the 2021-22 season. Quinn went 2-1 during those games.

“He’s more than an associate head coach,” Spoelstra said. “He has stepped in to be the head coach when I’ve missed games. I think he’s worthy of being a head coach right now in this league. Sometimes it’s just a matter of opportunity, and he’s been close with some of these jobs. He will get that opportunity. But in the meantime, he’s a big time value-add to this organization.

“He understands what our culture is about, he understands how to relate to the guys in our locker room. He knows how to relate to me and he does a great job of communicating things in a slightly different way. But he’s a great teacher, great communicator and a Miami Heat guy. So it was fun to do that last little title change.”

Quinn has been considered for different head coaching vacancies around the league in recent years — most recently interviewing for the Los Angeles Lakers opening this past offseason that ended up being filled by JJ Redick.

One day, Quinn hopes to be an NBA head coach. But for now, he’s focused on being the best associate head coach that he can be for the Heat.

“It is a goal ultimately to lead my own team,” Quinn said. “But also my job now is to be the best assistant coach I can be and that’s where my focus is. I’m trying to be the best coach I can be for Spo and for our players ultimately. That will come when it comes. More than anything, I’ve been able to grow a lot as an individual coach because of all those processes I’ve been through. Hopefully I can use that to help us here.”

NBA VET JOINS HEAT’S G LEAGUE PROGRAM

Nine-year NBA veteran guard Tony Snell has joined the Heat’s G League affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce, a league source confirmed to the Miami Herald on Wednesday.

Snell is not expected to join the Heat’s expanded 21-man preseason roster. The plan is for him to head straight to the G League to play for the Skyforce.

Snell, who was selected by the Chicago Bulls with the 20th overall pick in the first round of the 2013 Draft, last played in an NBA game on April 10, 2022. He spent last season with the Celtics’ G League affiliate.

Snell, 32, has averaged 6.1 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game while shooting 43.1 percent from the field and 39.4 percent on threes in 601 regular-season appearances (310 starts) during his NBA career.