The Miami Heat front office has made it clear over the years that they like Tyler Herro. However, there are several reasons to trade him — if it’s not already too late.
When Tyler Herro was drafted back in 2019, he quickly burst onto the scene for the Miami Heat. Even as a rookie, he showed a fearless mentality in big moments and clutch situations. His long-range shooting and playmaking quickly became an intriguing asset to the team.
Unfortunately, years have passed since that rookie season, and Herro has yet to finally make that leap. There could be an argument that he reached his peak in the 2021-22 season, where he earned the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year award. Herro averaged 20.7 points during that season, but has yet to eclipse the 20-point mark in each of his next two season averages.
Injuries have ultimately halted Herro’s progression for the Heat.
He has not played in more than 67 games in each of his five seasons. Two of the Heat’s recent playoff runs featured him missing most, if not the entirety of the postseason due to injury. In 2022, he suffered with a hamstring injury that limited him and kept him out of most of the Eastern Conference finals. In 2023, he missed the entire playoffs after suffering a broken hand in the opening game of the first round.
His absences haven’t stopped the Heat from winning games over the years, giving fans reasons to believe Herro may not be as crucial in the team’s success. Here are three reasons why the Miami front office should finally pull the plug on the Herro timeline.
- Unwilling to play as a sixth man
The Heat are 93-49 in games that Herro comes off the bench throughout his five-year career. As a starter, they have a mediocre record of 73-67. That is a big sample size for each scenario of Herro’s role in Miami, with stats proving that the team could be better off with him as a sixth man.
After all, Herro ran away with the league’s Sixth Man of the Year award a few seasons ago. This is a role that he knows how to play and impact Miami in the winning column. That same season where he played that role, the Heat finished as the East’s top overall seed. It was clear that Herro’s scoring added some much-needed balance to the second unit, with Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo manning the starting group.
Each of the two seasons after, with him as a starter, the Heat have limped their way into the postseason as a play-in team. It could be obvious what is best for the team at this point, but Herro has shown an unwillingness to embrace a sixth man’s role, noting several times in recent years that he knows he is a “starter in this league.”
- Financial flexibility
The Heat have struggled to maintain much financial flexibility over the five-year Butler era. Doing so became considerably more difficult once Herro signed a lucrative contract extension in 2023. Pat Riley put trust in Herro as a player when locking him up long-term, but the reality is that his nearly $30 million annual salary has limited Miami.
Had his play justified his hefty salary (that will be covered in a bit), then the financial hit wouldn’t be as bad. But having a player taking up the third highest salary on the team that has struggled to stay healthy and produce at a high level, is a burden. The Heat have had little to no cap space over the left couple of offseasons to go out and make roster improvements.
Last year especially, they were deep into the second apron. Being involved in such dire cap straights brings on a lot of restrictions due to the new CBA. Herro’s contract just being even 5$ million less annually would have gone a long way in providing the Heat with some much-needed breathing room.
- Consistency/Injuries
Herro’s consistency, in both his play and his health, has been a legitimate problem over the years. In Riley’s end-of-season press conference, he noted that Herro has been “fragile.” Last season, he saw himself appear in a career-low 42 games out of the 82-game season. In this sense, the best ability is availability, and he has proven that he can’t be relied on to be available.
Even when it comes to when he is available and playing, Herro has struggled to be consistent. His shooting efficiency isn’t where it needs to be for a $30 million player, being around 44% the last two seasons. His 20.8 points average is on 17.5 field goal attempts — far from ideal. After sitting out the entirety of the 2023 postseason, Herro was finally fully healthy this time around in the past postseason.
At full strength, the combo guard did not capitalize on his opportunity, playing well in just two of the seven combined playoff and play-in games.
There is no question Herro is a polarizing player who is extremely talented. However, there are a lot of flaws here. Being that he is only 24 years old, this upcoming season could give him a fresh start in hopes of making that overdue leap regarding his health and overall game on the court.
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