Juwan Howard has become the next man in the coaching line after the departure of highly respected assistant coach David Fizdale from South Beach.
He has already begun his new duties, coaching the Miami Heat’s 2016 summer league team in Las Vegas.
Retiring after the 2012-13 season led Howard to join the Heat coaching staff, but that wasn’t initially his plan.
Howard spoke with the Boston Globe about his new career after retirement as an NBA player, offering his thoughts on his new coaching gig:
“It came towards the end of my career when I joined the Heat. David Fizdale is one of the guys who inspired and talked me into coaching. I’m always going to point the finger at him. At first my mind-set was built on working in the front office, being a scout, and building my way up.
“I had a great conversation one time. Coach Fizdale came to my house, we had a drink of wine, we were talking, and he felt like this team needed me. He felt also the way I grabbed the respect from the guys in the locker room and the leadership qualities and also my knowledge and experience from the game of basketball, that it would be needed on his staff.”
It was after that conversation with Fizdale, that Howard decided he wanted to coach.
“I couldn’t turn that offer down and I have the bug because of him and learning from a guy like [Spoelstra], one of the best coaches in the NBA. He doesn’t win championships by mistake, obviously he’s doing something right. This is one of the most bright individuals I’ve ever met and that is a fact.”
Howard later offered some thoughts about the departure of 13-year Heat star Dwyane Wade, and the future in Miami.
“He’s going to be missed. I love him. He’s an ex-teammate of mine and he’s a brother and he will always be a brother to me.
“We’ll have some new faces, which means as one of the coaches we’ll have our hands full instilling the Miami Heat culture in a lot of the new guys, But our organization did an excellent job of picking up some awesome talent, some guys with high IQ, some shooting. I trust that they will buy into what we teach and I trust that we will be very competitive.”
Now that Howard has chosen the direction he wants to go, and is ready to settle into the future, he will have his hands full trying to instill cultural values in his young players.
“I played for eight teams and Miami was my last stop and now on the coaching staff. Miami does it a certain way, they do it a special way. When you talk about the Miami Heat culture, it starts at the top. We’re going to continue to keep building for a championship, because that’s all we talk about, winning championships.”
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