Pat Riley, Erik Spoelstra Take Pay Cuts To Save Heat Jobs

Seemingly every NBA franchise is cinching its garter these days. The Bobcats skipped Summer League. The Grizzlies have discarded their dedicated amateur scouting corps. The Kings left a benchwarmer (Kenny Thomas) at home on road trips last season to save on accommodations, and the team's owners downgraded themselves to coach. The Nets sold an ad on practice jerseys and tried to juice ticket sales by giving away LeBron jerseys. (Note: LeBron does not play for the Nets.)

But the Heat have an altruistic twist: everyone in basketball ops, including prez Pat Riley and coach Erik Spoelstra, is taking a good ol' pay cut, according to the Miami Herald. The salary reductions will apparently save the team from laying off anyone on the basketball side. As Riley and Spoelstra figure to be some of the most highly paid Heat employees who don't wear a jersey, it seems fair. Now if only they could get Jermaine O'Neal on board ... (Of course, the players union can't allow players to give money back. One wonders if the same would apply to Spoelstra if a coaches union existed.)