The Heat and coach Erik Spoelstra are closing in on a contract extension, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical reports. Spoelstra is entering the final year of his current deal.
Team owner Micky Arison and team president Pat Riley are eager to secure Spoelstra beyond the final year of his contract and want to insure that he doesn’t hit the open market next summer, Wojnarowski notes. Spoelstra is the second-longest active tenured coach with one team, trailing only behind San Antonio’s Gregg Popovich.
The 45-year-old just completed his eighth season as Heat head coach, reaching the Eastern Conference semifinals before losing to the Raptors in seven games. Spoelstra has won two NBA titles with the franchise, reaching four Eastern Conference finals along the way and he owns a career regular season mark of 399-241 (.623) and is 70-43 (.619) as a head coach in the postseason.