Stefan Swiat, Suns.com
Posted: July 10, 2010
Not only are players trying to make a name for themselves at the NBA’s Las Vegas Summer League, but so are the coaches.
When you scan the sidelines of the summer league, you’ll see the teams’ assistant coaches running the show while the head coaches are observing from the stands. So while you’ll see Suns Head Coach Alvin Gentry evaluating talent 15 rows up, Suns assistant coach Dan Majerle is calling the shots from the bench.
Majerle is currently being aided by newly-named assistant coach and advance scout Noel Gillespie. In addition, Majerle is receiving assistance from a name that only the most devout Suns fans will remember: Suns former second-round draft pick Anthony Goldwire.
“I ran into (Suns Head Scout) Todd (Quinter) and expressed my interest in being a player development guy or assistant coach in the NBA,” Goldwire said. “I did the D-League Showcase Elite Mini-Camp about two weeks ago in D.C. and there was an opening that became available here with the Suns and it was a great opportunity for me to get here. So he called me up and asked me if I wanted to come through.”
Goldwire, who played collegiately at Houston, spent nine seasons in the NBA playing for nine different clubs. His first whiff of the NBA came when the point guard was drafted in 1994 by Phoenix with the 52nd pick.
The 38-year-old Goldwire never suited up for Phoenix and was waived shortly before the regular season started. However, Goldwire still remembers Quinter from the front office and playing alongside former Suns Dan Majerle and Mark West.
“They had Kevin Johnson, who was in his prime, Frank Johnson and Elliot Perry,” Goldwire recalled. “So there wasn’t any room for me. It was a great experience for me and it made me hungrier.”
After leaving the Suns, he went on to win a CBA title and eventually catch on the following season in the NBA with the Nuggets.
After recently finishing up his playing career in Europe, Goldwire began actively pursuing a career in coaching and player development. While coaching at the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament for the top 65 college seniors in the country, the former 6-2 guard bumped into Quinter.
On most NBA coaching staffs, there is usually at least one coach that works on developing the ballhandling and shooting skills of the young players. The former Houston Cougar is looking to fashion himself as one of the coaches that does just that.
“I want to be versatile,” Goldwire said. “I want to be able to coach and do Xs and Os but also go out there and demonstrate, teach and put guys through individual workouts.
“That’s why I am always around Dan Majerle. I see that he’s getting into (coaching) pretty deep and I want to start my career like that.”
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