"This is how the Miami Heat operate, purely on a need-to-know basis.

Pat Riley decided the eve of the final season of Erik Spoelstra's contract was the proper time for his coach to know he had security, so he made his move this week, extending Spoelstra's deal.

But only when asked during Friday's state-of-the-Heat media session at AmericanAirlines Arena did the Heat president divulge the move.

"Erik's contract has been extended," Riley said matter-of-factly several minutes into his question-and-answer session, with no formal release issued by the team. "We have one of the great young coaches in the league that's an absolute member of this family and has been for a long time, so we want him to become a Hall of Famer. So, that's been taken care of."

And that was it. No details on how long of an extension or whether the Heat finally have pushed Spoelstra's salary out of the lower tier among NBA coaches.

"It's been in the works for a while," Riley said. "I'm not going to discuss the terms."

Later, prodded about his own future with the team, Riley said that he, too, plans on sticking around for a while, again without offering parameters about his agreement with owner Micky Arison.

"I love what I'm doing here," Riley, 66, said. "The Arisons have been absolutely great to me.

"Everybody, we've been around each other for a long time, it's really a family."

Riley announcement just nine days before the Dec. 25 regular-season opener against the Dallas Mavericks was so impromptu that Spoelstra, 41, was not even available for comment, with the Heat given Friday off from practice, although many players worked out, anyway.

Spoelstra said at the start of camp he did not see the expiring contract as an issue."