Detroit Pistons set interviews, 2 candidates stand out
Detroit Pistons coaching search: Chris Quinn
Chris Quinn is currently an assistant coach with the Miami Heat, where he has been since 2014, so he meets the requirement of coming from a winning culture and organization, as the Heat are one of the NBA’s best franchises.
He’s coached under Erick Spoelstra, widely considered one of the best coaches in the NBA, so Quinn has been learning how to handle a team from a future Hall of Famer.
The Heat must have seen something in Quinn right away, as they were the team that drafted him into the NBA and then took a chance on him as an assistant when he was just 30 years old.
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Prior to that, he worked in player development at Northwestern with Chris Collins, so he has been around some successful coaches.
Pat Riley is known to like to find his guys and then stick with them as he has with Spoelstra and many around the organization feel that Quinn is being primed in a similar way to take over at some point.
Quinn has the respect of players like veteran Udonis Haslem, who had this to say:
"“When you listen to Quinny, you’re hearing Spo. It’s the same message.” Haslem added, “He has the knowledge, the experience, the relationship with the players. He has every base covered when you talk about checking the boxes to have the ability to be a successful head coach.”"
When Spoelstra had to miss some time, it was Quinn who he pegged as his temporary replacement over the other assistants on the staff, so clearly he thinks highly of him.
He’s a smart guy who knows the game and has been a part of sustained success in Miami. He’s just 39-years-old, so should be able to relate to and grow with the players. Miami always has a good defense (2nd in points per game allowed this season) and is a disciplined team, so Quinn really does check all of the boxes.