Miami Heat President and Head Coach Pat Riley announced this afternoon that he has decided to step down as head coach of the Miami Heat but will continue to serve as team president. Heat Managing General Partner Micky Arison and Riley jointly announced that former Assistant Coach/Director of Scouting Erik Spoelstra has been elevated to head coach. Spoelstra becomes the sixth head coach in franchise history.

?The game of basketball is a game about talent,? said Riley. ?While we are always looking for NBA talent to perform on the court, the most important talent that you may find has to perform on the bench, in the locker room, on the practice court, late at night, watching film, motivating and executing all the responsibilities of a head coach. I believe Erik Spoelstra is one of the most talented young coaches to come around in a long time. This game is now about younger coaches who are technologically skilled, innovative, and bring fresh new ideas. That?s what we feel we are getting with Erik Spoelstra. He?s a man that was born to coach.?

Spoelstra just completed his 13th season as a member of the Heat staff and his seventh in the role of assistant coach/director of scouting where he had the primary role of developing game plans for upcoming opponents. Spoelstra was responsible for coordinating the video staff and advance scouts while also overseeing the development of scouting reports and videos. He has been in charge of the Heat?s Individual Player Development Program and has served as the head coach of the Heat?s summer league squad each of the past three summers.

The 37-year old Portland native originally joined the Heat as the team?s video coordinator in 1995. He spent two years in that role when he was responsible for preparing scouting tapes and heading up the team?s information technology for the coaching staff. He served as assistant coach/video coordinator the following two seasons (1997-99). He was then promoted to assistant coach/advance scout and served in that role for two seasons (1999-01) before being elevated to assistant coach/director of scouting, the role he has served in the past seven years. Spoelstra has become the NBA?s youngest current head coach, born on Nov. 1, 1970 in Evanston, IL. He is 69 days younger than the second youngest head coach, Lawrence Frank of the New Jersey Nets.

Pat Riley plans to resign as the Heat?s head basketball coach but remain as the team?s president, according to a report published Monday by the Miami Herald.

The Heat have not confirmed the report but have scheduled a news conference for 4:00 p.m. EDT Monday afternoon.

Dwyane Wade is reportedly dating Star Jones, a former co-host of The View, who recently filed for divorce.  The news was reported on the Detroit Free-Press' website.

It was announced last September that Wade and his wife Siovaughn were also divorcing.

Jones is 20 years older than the Miami Heat guard.

Former NBA Coach Jeff Van Gundy thinks that the Heat quit on the season after Christmas, according to the Miami Herald.

Van Gundy is currently an analyst for ABC's NBA coverage.

"They haven't been putting a product on the floor that's representative of NBA basketball, whether it's true injuries or trying to manipulate their chances in the lottery. They should have been in the 40s [in victories], so I'm not going to give them credit for some turnaround next year if they try real hard and win because they didn't do that since Christmas this year," Van Gundy said.

Dwyane Wade has revealed that he believes he'll be ready for the Team USA this summer, the Associated Press is reporting.

"I really want to stress to them that I really want to be a part of this team, badly," Wade said. "I've been waiting four years for this opportunity. So I'll do everything I can to make sure that I'm hopefully ready enough to go out there and play. And if I'm not, they should move on and get somebody else. But I'm not looking at that as being the case."

Mike Fratello is rumored to be one of the candidates to coach the Heat next season if Pat Riley is no longer on the sideline, according to the Miami Herald.

Other names that were mentioned in the report were Ron Rothstein and Erik Spoelstra.

Fratello is of Riley's generation but has enjoyed more success running an open-style of basketball.

Pat Riley is undecided on his future with the Heat and plans to meet with the team's owner sometime next week, according to the Associated Press.

"Borne out of that conversation, I'll make a decision," Riley said. "The conversation with him is going to be important for a lot of reasons. I really want to do what's in the best interest of the Heat."

He announced last summer that he would remain the team's coach through the 2009-10 season. However, he's aware that Miami's game against Atlanta on Wednesday night could be his last.

"Yes, I've given thought to that fact," said Riley, whose team has been the worst in the league for most of the season.

Shawn Marion spoke for the first time about his future on Tuesday and said that he "definitely" wants to sign an extension with the Heat, according to a report in the Miami Herald.

The likelihood of that happening remains minimal, though, as the Heat would like to keep themselves well under the salary cap for the 2009 offseason, and Marion will likely demand big money.

The Miami Heat announced today that they have signed guard Blake Ahearn for the remainder of the season. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Ahearn, a 6?2?, 190-pound guard, has appeared in 10 games for the Heat averaging 6.9 points, 1.8 rebounds, and 1.8 assists in 17.0 minutes of action. He tied is career-high of 15 points vs. New Orleans on Apr. 2 and dished out a career-high five assists in his last game vs. Detroit on Apr. 6. Additionally, his 96.7 percent (29-of-30) from the free throw line currently leads the team.

Ahearn, the 2007-08 NBA Development League Rookie of the Year, was originally signed to a 10-day contract with the Heaton Mar. 21 and then re-signed to another 10-day contract on Mar. 31.

The Miami Heat announced today that they have signed forward Stephane Lasme for the remainder of the season. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Lasme, a 6?8?, 215-pound forward, has appeared in 11 games for the Heat averaging 4.7 points, 3.5 rebounds, 1.55 blocks, and 1.00 steals in 19.7 minutes of action. He scored a career-high eight points at Detroit on Mar. 27, grabbed a career-high seven rebounds at Indiana on Mar. 31, and blocked a career-high three shots on two occasions at Charlotte on Mar. 22 and then in his next game vs. Milwaukee on Mar. 24.

Lasme, the 2007-08 NBA Development League Co-Defensive Player of the Year, was originally signed to a 10-day contract with the Heat on Mar. 21 and was then re-signed to a second 10-day contract on Mar. 31.