(Mandatory Credit: Nam Y. Huh/Associated Press)
The clock is ticking.
The Miami Heat and guard Tyler Herro — who has two more years left on his deal, including a $31 million cap hit in 2025-26 — have until Monday to sign a new deal before the one-time All-Star becomes an expiring contract next offseason.
However, the two sides appear to be patient in waiting for a deal, according to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst.
“Tyler Herro is coming off an All-Star season and is definitely interested in extending with the Heat, but there haven’t been substantive talks to his point and a deal is doubtful, sources say,” Windhorst wrote. “In a vacuum, Herro is the player the Heat probably should be most interested in extending, and Herro saw former All-Star Bam Adebayo get a large extension last year. But it doesn’t appear to be in the offing.”
The Heat waiting to extend Tyler Herro makes sense:
The Heat have signed just one of their five extension-eligible players — Nikola Jovic — to a new deal this summer. Jovic, whose deadline to sign a rookie-scale deal was also on Monday, signed a four-year, $62.4 million deal earlier this month. While Jovic has played 107 games with the Heat, it could be a bargain if the 22-year-old makes the growth that many — including myself — are expecting.
Herro, 25, is a different case study.
Ideally, for the 6-foot-5 guard, the two sides would agree to terms right now. He’s coming off the best season of his career. Though in my estimation, he is much closer to his ceiling than some might suggest. Frankly, Herro’s player archetype as a score-first guard with a negative wingspan is flawed! Herro, who’s currently recovering from foot surgery, has also dealt with poor injury luck throughout his career.
Herro averaged 23.9 points, 5.2 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game last year on a remarkable 60.5 percent true shooting. Even though his efficiency (understandably) regressed the last month of the season, it was a great season for him.
It makes sense for the Heat, who want to keep their books clear, to wait. They should be in no rush to ink Herro — nor should they be for Norman Powell or Andrew Wiggins. Miami’s still trying to find an identity post-Jimmy Butler. Letting the season play out before showering money on vets you don’t plan to build around long-term wouldn’t make sense, especially if they’re not premier talents (Herro, Wiggins, Powell aren’t, respectfully).
That doesn’t mean you don’t extend them at all. Though we haven’t seen what Powell, 32, looks like in this context; we’ve barely seen Wiggins, 30, because he was dealing with injury for most of his abbreviated Heat stint last year, and the results were underwhelming. Herro, who’s dealt with his own flaws, doesn’t project to be a player worth paying at least $35-40 million to in today’s NBA, where every $ matters.
Would you extend Herro before the season? Let us know in the comments!
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