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Miami Heat assistant coach Dan Craig interviewed for head coaching vacancies with the Chicago Bulls and Indiana Pacers recently. He didn’t get either of those jobs, but another team poached Craig from Miami’s sidelines — the Los Angeles Clippers.
Can confirm that Heat assistant coach Dan Craig has left to take a job as an assistant coach with the LA Clippers, per source. Clippers offered more money and he hopes this becomes pathway to becoming head coach somewhere eventually, per source.
— Barry Jackson (@flasportsbuzz) October 26, 2020
Craig will instead serve as an assistant to Ty Lue with the Los Angeles Clippers. The Clippers offered him more money, and he hopes the use the stage of appearing in the LA market to elevate his chances of becoming a head coach one day. Of course, the Clippers are running into a do-or-die season with Kawhi Leonard and Paul George able to become free agents in 2021.
Per source there were layers to the decision:
— Christian Hernandez (@ICanBeYourHerro) October 26, 2020
A) secured the bag
B) championship aspirations
C) increasing exposure for eventual head coach opportunity
The last motivator seems to be the greatest. Now a premier assistant in the biggest NBA market.
Craig is just the latest assistant coach under Erik Spoelstra to find opportunities elsewhere. David Fizdale served as Spoelstra’s top assistant until leaving for jobs with the Memphis Grizzlies and New York Knicks. Juwan Howard left to coach his alma matter’s basketball team at Michigan.
In December 2019, Craig served as the head coach for a Heat game against the Boston Celtics that Spoelstra missed for the birth of his second son.
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