Grizzlies add Anthony Carter to Coaching Staff

Per Drew Hill of the Daily Memphian, the Memphis Grizzlies have added former Miami Heat Director of Player Development and assistant coach Anthony Carter to their coaching staff:

While the addition of an assistant coach is rarely considered a major move, it is hard to deny the potential excitement and significance of this hire. For one, a sizeable void on the coaching staff was created when former Grizzlies assistant Darko Rajakovic was hired as the new Head Coach of the Toronto Raptors. Along with Grizzlies Head Coach Taylor Jenkins, Rajakovic played a big part in helping the Grizzlies become one of the best draft and development teams in the NBA in recent years.

To fill the opening, the Grizzlies have hired Carter, who potentially comes with an even more impressive track record. For many across the league, “Heat Culture” likely stands near or at the top of current team brands/cultures that are celebrated across league fan bases. As Hill notes above, Carter has played a significant role in the development of Heat players such as Gabe Vincent and Max Strus. Both Vincent and Strus were undrafted talents when they entered the NBA. However, through working with Carter, both became significant contributors to the Heat’s unexpected run to the NBA Finals last season. They both have also earned just shy of $100M in new free agent contracts, with the Lakers and Cavaliers respectively, this summer due to their efforts.

Like Jenkins, Carter, a 13-year NBA veteran as a player, began his coaching career in the Spurs organization with the Austin Toros. After Jenkins left the Toros head coaching position after the 2012-2013 season to join the Atlanta Hawks coaching staff, Carter joined the Toros as an assistant coach. Since then, Carter has gained experience as an assistant coach with both the Sacramento Kings and the Heat.

Another shared and potentially significant characteristic between Jenkins and Carter is the correlation of their arrivals to the Grizzlies and Heat and the overall improvement of both clubs from three. The Grizzlies per game three point production has more than doubled in the four seasons Jenkins has been with the club compared to the first 24 seasons of the franchise. Before Carter arrived in Miami, the Heat averaged 5.8 threes a game and shot 35.6% from three in the first 30 years of the franchise. Over the past five seasons with Carter in Miami, the Heat have averaged 12.2 threes per game and shot 36.2% from three. While Eric Spoelstra and others have played a role in that improvement as well, Carter likely deserves some credit with the shooters that have developed under his tutelage over this time frame.

Perhaps the biggest reason to be excited for the addition of Carter is how he can develop players to perform on any stage. Vincent, Strus, and others have not just turned into depth that can help the Heat navigate a long regular season. The Heat have arguably benefited more than any other team in recent years in “outlier playoff performances”: role players having bigger than expected games to help earn wins. For Miami, one of several players have stepped up huge in this way, many of whom became better than expected contributors due to learning from Carter. The big key is that it always seems at least one players did this in every game.

Such performances have burned the Grizzlies over the past two years against the Warriors and Lakers. Hopefully, Carter can bring some of his same magic from Miami to Memphis, and the Grizzlies can become consistent with those “outlier playoff performances.” With the need for multiple young talents, especially on the wing, to develop effectively and quickly, Carter’s track record should improve hope that some of the Grizzlies young talents can take bigger than expected leaps this season and beyond.