Written by Ira Winderman at Sun Sentinel.com
Add David Fizdale to the list of those who have emerged as NBA head coaches from the Miami Heat coaching tree.
Erik Spoelstra’s lead assistant, having just completed his second season with the title of assistant head coach, is finalizing a contract with the Memphis Grizzlies, a source close to the negotiations Wednesday confirmed to the Sun Sentinel.
Fizdale had been among a group of assistant coaches that the Grizzlies had narrowed down for the coaching vacancy created when the team parted recently with Dave Joerger, who moved on to become coach of the Sacramento Kings.
Known for his relationships with players throughout the league, having previous worked with the Golden State Warriors and Atlanta Hawks, Fizdale, 41, was contacted by the Grizzlies amid the Heat’s playoff run that ended in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Toronto Raptors.
Spoelstra had been braced for Fizdale’s departure, huddling with Fizdale to help prepare him for the first of his recent interviews with the Grizzlies.
“I love Fiz. I want him to get his opportunity,” Spoelstra’s said last week at his season-ending media session. “All of us are rooting for him. Hopefully, it happens. If it doesn’t, he’s got a great gig here and he’s got great impact on our success. This is the first time for me as a head coach that someone on my staff has interviewed somewhere else, and someone that’s so dear to me.”
Fizdale actually had met with thePortland Trail Blazers during the 2012 offseason, when the Heat were coming off of the first of consecutive NBA championships, but opted against pursuing that head coaching job at the time, saying, “I’m going to be very patient about becoming a head coach and learn as much as I can before I go into that situation.”
Fizdale follows Jeff Bzdelik, Marc Iavaroni, Stan Van Gundy and Spoelstra into NBA head coaching jobs among those who have served as Heat assistant coaches during Pat Riley’s stewardship of the franchise.
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