ahead of the Oakland As and resurgent Atlanta Bra
Posted: Wed Jun 29, 2016 9:01 am
MIAMI -- Erik Spoelstra has been with the Miami Heat for nearly two decades, and their relationship wont be ending anytime soon. . Spoelstra has signed a multiyear extension to remain as coach of the two-time defending NBA champion Heat, the team said Sunday afternoon. The move comes one day after the Heat announced several other front-office moves, including promoting Andy Elisburg to general manager and hiring Juwan Howard as an assistant coach. A person familiar with the talks between the sides, speaking on condition of anonymity earlier Sunday because the deal had not been announced, told The Associated Press that the Heat has never had any intention of letting Spoelstra go. He had one season remaining on his existing contract, a deal that the sides agreed to in 2011. "I want Spo here for a long, long time," Heat President Pat Riley said last season. Spoelstra is 260-134 in his first five seasons with Miami, going to the playoffs in each of those years, the NBA finals in each of the last three and winning the title in 2012 and 2013. His resume suggests that hes already well on a Hall of Fame path: Only 12 other men in NBA history multiple championships as a coach, and only seven others have collected rings in back-to-back years. Hes won while helping LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh not only figure out ways to play with one another, but having each of those stars change their game to make everything fit within the Heat system. Last season may have been Spoelstras best coaching job. The Heat rolled through the regular season, winning 27 straight games at one point on the way to a 66-16 record. Then in the playoffs, Miami had to rally from a 1-0 second-round deficit against Chicago and ultimately had to grind out seven-game victories over Indiana in the Eastern Conference finals and San Antonio in the NBA Finals. "Whats overlooked for him is the management of the team," Wade told AP last season. "Its not the coaching part of it. Its, Can you manage these egos, these personalities, without having one your damn self? Hes done it." Yahoo Sports first reported that Spoelstra and the Heat were nearing a new deal. The Heat power structure remains largely unchanged, even after Elisburg -- a Heat original employee -- was promoted to GM and the hiring of Howard was part of a slight reshuffling of Spoelstras staff. Riley remains president, Nick Arison remains CEO and Micky Arison remains managing general partner of a team that has not fired a head coach since parting ways with Kevin Loughery in February 1995. Miamis annual media day is Monday. The teams first two training-camp practices of the new season take place Tuesday in the Bahamas. Hired as a video co-ordinator by the Heat in 1995, Spoelstras rise through the ranks has been well-chronicled. He was a scout, an assistant coach, a key part of Stan Van Gundys staff in Miami and then started becoming considered Rileys protege not long after Van Gundy stepped down 21 games into what became a championship season for the Heat in 2005-06. Riley retired for good in 2008, and the Heat didnt wait long before making Spoelstra the head coach. He inherited a 15-win team and improved it by 28 games in his first year. The Heat went back to the playoffs in 2010, then found a way to keep Wade while landing James, Bosh and a slew of other players the following summer on their way to making three straight trips to the NBA Finals. .ca MLB Power Rankings, ahead of the Oakland As and resurgent Atlanta Braves. .C. -- Mallory Blackwelder won the Symetra Classic on Saturday for her first Symetra Tour title, closing with a 5-under 67 for a two-stroke victory. . The Pacers rallied from 17 points down in the first half and almost wiped out another double-digit deficit after halftime, but had the same offensive troubles late that plagued them early in the game. Paul George had 27 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Pacers, who stayed a game and a half up on Miami for the lead in the Eastern Conference after the Heat lost in overtime to Chicago.LONDON -- American striker Juan Agudelo has been denied a work permit in Britain, a decision that blocks his planned move to Premier League club Stoke in January. Agudelo signed a preliminary agreement in August to join the English club when his contract with the New England Revolution expires. However, Stoke chief executive Tony Scholes told British media this week that the forwarrds application for a work permit had been denied. . Stoke manager Mark Hughes told Sky Sports News on Friday that "we are really disappointed with the decision," but that Agudelo had not played the required amount of international matches. The 20-year-old Agudelo was born in Colombia but has played 17 games for the United States national team. ' ' '