Ex-Heat guard Carter joins staff

MIAMI — The Miami Heat have promoted former Heat guard Anthony Carter to Erik Spoelstra’s coaching staff.

Carter, who had been an assistant coach with the team’s developmentalleague affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce, joins Dan Craig, Juwan Howard, Chris Quinn and Octavio De La Grana on Spoelstra’s staff.

Carter, 43, who played for the Heat from 1999 to 2003, fills the vacancy from when David Fizdale left the Heat as an assistant to become coach of the Memphis Grizzlies in 2016. Fizdale has since moved on to become coach of the New York Knicks.

Carter, like De La Grana, is expected to work from behind the bench on game nights.

Carter’s title will be player development coach, with the Heat listing the job description as being, “involved in all aspects of player development for the Heat and implementing Miami’s player development and mentorship programs with the Heat’s G League affiliate.”

Carter served as a Skyforce assistant the past two seasons after serving as an assistant coach with the Sacramento Kings in 2015-16 and with the developmental-league Austin Spurs (from 2013 to 2015). He also has worked with the Heat staff during summer league.

As a player, Carter’s career spanned 13 seasons and 623 games (181 starts), spending his first four NBA seasons with the Heat, when he appeared in 246 regular season games (80 starts).

Carter joined the Heat as an undrafted point guard out of Hawaii in 1999. He then was excised from the team when a clerical error in June 2003 voided the $4.1 million final year on his Heat contract. That opened the door for the team to replace him with Lamar Odom as part of the personnel machinations that would lead to the 2006 NBA championship.

Among Carter’s Heat career highlights was helping the team to a pair of postseason appearances, setting the franchise record for the most assists in a three-game series against the Detroit Pistons in the 2000 first round.

After his stint with the Heat, Carter went on to play with the San Antonio Spurs, Minnesota Timberwolves, Denver Nuggets, New York Knicks and Toronto Raptors.

Carter said this summer that the past two seasons would prepare him for such a moment.

“It’s Heat Culture every step of the way,” he said. “What they do with the Heat, that’s what we try to do in Sioux Falls, is player development, is eating right, is weight room. When guys come to Sioux Falls, it’s our job to have them ready when they get called up to the Heat.”