Heat’s Spoelstra doesn’t want to coach elsewhere. And Robinson’s new mission.
With the NBA season on hiatus, Miami Heat Erik Spoelstra explained Friday why he has no interest in coaching elsewhere during his career.
“Micky and Pat created this culture,” Spoelstra said of owner Micky Arison and president Pat Riley during an interview on Sirius XM NBA Radio. “Some people might think they need to venture out on their own to create their own image. I do not have any of those kind of feelings. I feel a sense of purpose by carrying this culture on and this legacy to future teams. It’s what I enjoy. It’s what fills my cup up. I want to keep this going as long as I can. It doesn’t feel like a job.”
Spoelstra, 49 and in his 12th season coaching the Heat, has won two NBA championships and his 564 wins are 27th on the NBA’s all-time list.
Spoelstra addressed other issues in the interview with Jason Jackson and Rick Kamla:
▪ He said this Heat team reminds him of Dwyane Wade’s rookie team that went 42-40 and lost in six games to Indiana in the second round of the playoffs in 2003-04.
“We do see a lot of comparisons from that team to this team,” he said.
“Dwyane’s rookie year, Caron Butler, Lamar Odom. You had some young talented players that weren’t necessarily the No. 1 pick, to be targeted to be the next star and some quote, unquote castoffs who were maybe castoffs in other places and a bunch of unknowns, undrafted guys, with big chips on their shoulders.
“The common denominator with both of those teams is chemistry is a hard thing to put an analytic to. There are some teams that really enjoy each other’s success and try to help facilitate somebody else playing well and that’s what both those teams have. The guys really enjoy each other. It’s not only going on the road, having dinner. It’s deeper than that. It’s really enjoying seeing somebody else play well. Whether they are part of it or not, they want to see each person have their moment.”
▪ Spoestra has typically declined to say the coaches with whom he meets during the offseason, though several have leaked out through the years — including UCLA football coach Chip Kelly, Atlanta Falcons football coach Dan Quinn and Nova Southeastern basketball coach Jim Crutchfield, who runs an up-tempo offense and spoke with Spoelstra last summer.
But Spoelstra revealed Friday that he has traveled to Lexington, Kentucky, multiple times to meet with Wildcats basketball coach John Calipari.
“We’ve got to have some Kentucky blood coming through this program every few years,” he said, with Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro both former Wildcats players. “We love what Cal does. I’ve been up there a few times to see how he does his program. We like talking shop. He is going to coach you hard. They are going to spend a lot of time in player development, not going to coach you with kid gloves.”
▪ He said one reason for Adebayo’s success is “Bam has an attitude very similar to undrafted guys. He has a mountain-size chip on his shoulder, and he brings that mentality every day. When we drafted him, he was pretty raw out of Kentucky. I was happy he played a role at Kentucky. I like the fact he was willing to play defense, rebound, set screens and be OK with that. That’s an underrated skill. He had a different kind of maturity coming into this league. He has been working and getting better every single year.”
▪ Asked if making the Hall of Fame is a goal of his, Spoelstra said:
“No. I have never looked at [it] that way. That’s not my goal. I enjoy being part of teams, building teams.”
Spoelstra then indicated that former NBA coaches Rudy Tomjanovich, Rick Adelman and George Karl should be in the Hall of Fame.
ROBINSON PARTNERSHIP
Months after the national doughnut chain declined overtures from Heat wing Duncan Robinson for a sponsorship deal, Robinson and Dunkin have forged a partnership to bring coffee and donuts to medical workers and first responders at Miami-era COVID-19 testing sites and hospitals over the next three weeks.
Robinson wrote on Instagram: “Did you know that you can support countless heroes in South Florida who are helping to fight the coronavirus by donating to @feedingsouthflorida? Over the next three weeks, I will be donating to three local organizations with @dunkin and I encourage everyone to donate what they can!”
Robinson explained to me last month his thinking in approaching Dunkin about a sponsorship.
Those discussions are ongoing.
This story was originally published April 3, 2020 at 1:15 PM.
