Heat Extends Deals of Van Gundy, Pfund

With the Miami Heat on the verge of acquiring Shaquille O’Neal, the team signed Coach Stan Van Gundy to a multiyear extension Monday.

General Manager Randy Pfund also received an extension.

Van Gundy, who took over when Pat Riley stepped down last October, led the Heat to its first postseason berth in three years.

“Randy and Stan are two of the most loyal, competent and reliable men at their positions in the NBA,” Riley, the team president, said. “I look forward to continue working closely with them to help bring a championship to Miami.”

Van Gundy joined the Heat in 1995 and spent eight seasons as an assistant to Riley. Pfund has been with the Heat the last nine seasons.

Meanwhile, in the wake of a report that Michael Jordan is interested in buying the Heat, team owner Micky Arison said the franchise is not for sale.

Arison was out of town but responded to the report through a Heat spokesman.

According to the Chicago Tribune, an unidentified source said Jordan has been in discussions with the Heat about joining the organization as an owner.

But Arison reiterated comments he made earlier this year that the team isn’t on the market.

NBA Commissioner David Stern has said that he expects Jordan to become an owner in the next few years.

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Making a last-ditch effort to retain Carlos Boozer, the Cleveland Cavaliers have offered him a one-year contract worth about $5 million amid reports he will part ways with agent Rob Pelinka, Associated Press has learned.

The power forward’s reputation has taken a beating over the past week after he stunned Cleveland by agreeing to a $68-million offer from the Utah Jazz. Days earlier, the Cavaliers declined to exercise a $695,000 option on Boozer’s contract -- thereby making him a free agent -- in the belief he would accept a six-year, $41-million deal to remain in Cleveland.

But the move backfired when Boozer reneged on a verbal understanding with the Cavaliers and decided to take $27 million more from Utah.

Boozer’s decision has been heavily criticized around the NBA, with agents and team executives saying it has undermined the mutual trust between them.

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Antonio McDyess has accepted the Detroit Pistons’ four-year, $23-million contract offer, a source told Associated Press.

The NBA champion Pistons will be able to sign the 6-foot-9 forward on Wednesday when a two-week player movement moratorium expires. The source said a fifth year is included in the deal but it is not guaranteed.

McDyess has been plagued by injuries since the 2000-01 season.

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The Portland Trail Blazers signed first-round draft pick Sebastian Telfair. The 19-year-old guard from Brooklyn, N.Y., was selected with the 13th pick in the NBA draft.... The Atlanta Hawks signed their two first-round draft picks -- forwards Josh Childress and Josh Smith. Childress, the sixth overall pick in the draft last month, was an All-American last season at Stanford as a junior. The 6-9 Smith, the No. 17 pick, played last season at Oak Hill Academy in Virginia.