IN THE LANE

STAN SUMMIT: Speaking of the Heat’s coaching tree, decision day is looming when it comes to Stan Van Gundy’s future as both coach and lead executive with the Detroit Pistons. After the Pistons closed 39-43 and missed the playoffs for the third time in Van Gundy’s four seasons, owner Tom Gores told reporters that further inspection is warranted. “We have to make some changes,” Gores said in advance of his impending summit with Van Gundy. “I’m just not sure what they are. He’s been working, so I need to hear from Stan. I can tell you this: He’s an extremely dedicated man and he’s been good for our franchise. That I know for sure.” In the balance are the futures of several former Heat players on Van Gundy’s staff, including assistant coaches Tim Hardaway, Malik Allen and Rex Walters.

BAM’S BLOCK: The NBA has taken such a low-key approach with its awards for Plays of the Year that Heat rookie center Bam Adebayo said he was not even aware he was a finalist for Block of the Year until a day after the five finalists were announced. “I’m just finding about this now, so it’s appreciated,” he said when informed that his rejection against the Milwaukee Bucks had made the cut. “Hopefully I’ll get it. It would be great to have an award with just this first year under my belt. It would make it a great rookie season for me.” Adebayo is also expected to receive consideration for one of the NBA’s All-Rookie teams.

NO TIME SOON: When asked at the recent Board of Governors meeting about the All-Star Game falling later in the schedule due to the NBA’s earlier starting date, Commissioner Adam Silver offered a response that essentially put on hold Heat hopes of hosting All-Star Weekend. “We’ve sort of been focused around that Presidents’ Day weekend holiday as the best time to do it because it’s a three-day weekend for a lot of people,” Silver said. “It allows for a travel day back for a lot of our guests.” The problem in South Florida is Presidents’ Weekend also is when the Miami International Boast Show and Coconut Grove Arts Festival are staged, limiting both the hotel and convention space needed to host the NBA showcase. The only time All-Star Weekend has been staged in South Florida was in 1990, at Miami Arena. The next three All-Star Games are scheduled for Charlotte (2019), Chicago (2020) and Indianapolis (2021).

NEXT LEVEL: If the NBA, as it has proposed, is seeking a cut of sport-betting revenue on its games, a reasonable place to start would be something closer to NFL-style injury reports. Instead, Joel Embiid was listed as doubtful by the 76ers at 10 a.m. Thursday, but by 5 p.m. had bypassed questionable and moved to probable, suiting up two hours later. Now, there certainly is something to be said about fast-tracking the process (or, for that matter, The Process), but one would think that transparency would be put into place in advance of the legal wise guys getting into the game. Instead, NBA injury information remains a case of someone who knows someone who knows someone. For their part, the Heat, at midseason, began publicly updating injury information in real time, as status changed.