MIAMI — Miami Heat basketball operations employees have accepted up to a 20 percent pay cut in order to avoid layoffs.

The cuts affect everyone in the department, including team president Pat Riley, head coach Erik Spoelstra, assistant coaches, scouts and others. The South Florida Sun-Sentinel first reported the salary reduction in its Tuesday editions.
Player salaries are not being affected.
The Heat laid off 20 members of its business operations staff in May as a result of the economic downturn. In 2003, the franchise asked employees to accept 10 percent pay cuts because of falling revenues.
Lower ticket prices and scaled-back sponsorship deals have decreased revenue around the NBA, which is projecting further reductions over the coming year.