Tyler Herro

Heat Notes: Herro, Cain, Jovic, Oladipo, Haslem

October 8th, 2022 at 12:53pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Heat initially offered Tyler Herro a four-year rookie scale extension with $112MM in guaranteed money and incentives that would have pushed its value to $128MM, Joe Vardon of The Athletic reports.

Miami eventually upped the ante, with Herro signing a four-year deal with $120MM in guaranteed money and another $10MM in incentives.

“I wanted to be here and they wanted me here, so I mean, it was something we both wanted to get done,” Herro said. “We’re paying a lot of guys now. … so it was just getting the right number. I think it’s a good deal for both sides.”

We have more on the Heat:

Herro didn’t play in the back-to-back preseason games on Thursday and Friday due to a knee contusion, Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald notes.
In the same notebook, Chiang writes that Oakland University rookie Jamal Cain may be forcing the team’s hand with some impressive preseason performances. Cain, who is on an Exhibit 10 deal, had 15 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the field, 11 rebounds and five steals in 27 minutes against Brooklyn on Thursday and 19 points, six rebounds and three assists against the Grizzlies on Friday. Cain may not pass through waivers without being claimed, so Miami will have to consider converting him to a standard deal or a two-way, though both of the team’s two-way slots are currently filled.
Along with trying to make his mark on the team, Nikola Jovic is in the midst of finishing high school, Tim Bontemps of ESPN writes. Jovic still has to take one more comprehensive exam to get his high school degree from his Serbian school. He skipped the exam during the spring while undergoing draft workouts.
Victor Oladipo hasn’t played in the preseason as the Heat are taking a cautious approach with the oft-injured guard, according to Chiang. Oladipo re-signed with the club on a two-year, $18.2MM contract this summer. “We’re just getting him ready and that’s really it,” coach Erik Spoelstra said. “He had a very good camp, he’s doing some really good work right now and we want to keep in this good place.”
Playing 20 seasons with one franchise, putting him in rare company, was one of the reasons why Udonis Haslem decided to keep his career going this season, ESPN’s Israel Gutierrez writes in a lengthy interview with the 42-year-old big man. “I want kids somewhere to say, ‘I want to have a career like Udonis Haslem — undrafted, worked for everything I got, won three championships, retired and went into ownership with the same organization I played with for 20 years,” Haslem said.

Heat Notes: Herro, Cap Outlook, Adebayo, Yurtseven

October 5th, 2022 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

When the Heat signed Tyler Herro to a long-term deal on Sunday, this year’s rookie scale extension deadline was still over two weeks away. But Herro told reporters, including Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald, that he was happy with the Heat’s offer and didn’t feel the need to take negotiations down to the wire to try to squeeze out a few more million.

“It was a number I couldn’t pass up,” Herro said. “It wasn’t worth going into restricted free agency. And at the end of the day, this is where I want to be. … So it made sense.”

Herro’s new contract has a base value of $120MM and can technically be worth up to $130MM, but his incentives won’t be easy to achieve. As Anil Gogna of NoTradeClause.com details (via Twitter), Herro’s various bonuses are tied to being named to an All-NBA team, winning the MVP, and/or being named Defensive Player of the Year.

Here’s more on the Heat:

With Herro locked up for the next five seasons, the Heat will face a cap crunch going forward, according to Chiang and Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. As The Herald’s duo observes, any major roster addition Miami makes in the next few years will likely have to come via trade, since the team won’t have any cap room available anytime soon, barring some major roster reshuffling. Re-signing Max Strus, Gabe Vincent, and/or Omer Yurtseven beyond 2022/23 will only push team salary further over the cap (and the tax line), Chiang and Jackson note.
After playing Bam Adebayo and Yurtseven together for just 18 total minutes last season, head coach Erik Spoelstra had the duo on the floor for 20 minutes in the Heat’s preseason opener on Tuesday, showing that he’s committed to determining whether the frontcourt pairing can work, writes Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel. “They’re not going to play this many minutes together (during the season), if they play together. We’ll figure that part out,” Spoelstra said. “But that takes more time than some of the space or speed lineups. That’s why we’re dedicating time to that now in the preseason and in training camp.”
Spoelstra intends to continue using the preseason as a time to experiment with different lineup combinations, telling reporters that he’s “open to whatever” as he gets a sense of what works and what doesn’t, per Winderman. “We view all of this as training camp until we get to that Chicago game,” Spoelstra said, referring to Miami’s first game of the regular season on October 19.

Contract Details: Fernando, Herro, Nance, Adams

October 4th, 2022 at 7:46am CST by Luke Adams

The Rockets used a portion of their mid-level exception to give Bruno Fernando a four-year deal and a guaranteed salary of $2,717,391 for the 2022/23 season, Hoops Rumors has confirmed. Fernando’s salary will dip to $2,581,522 for 2023/24 before rising back up to $2,717,391 for ’24/25 and increasing to $2,853,260 for ’25/26. As Michael Scotto of HoopsHype tweets, the second and third years of Fernando’s deal are non-guaranteed, while the fourth year is a team option.

Here are some details on a few more new contracts from around the NBA:

Tyler Herro‘s four-year extension with the Heat will pay him annual salaries of $27MM, $29MM, $31MM, and $33MM beginning in 2023/24, for a base value of exactly $120MM, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks. The deal also includes $2.5MM in annual incentives that are currently considered unlikely.
Larry Nance Jr.‘s two-year extension with the Pelicans will pay him $10,375,000 in 2023/24 and $11,205,000 in ’24/25, tweets Anil Gogna of NoTradeClause.com. Because Nance’s second-year raise exceeds 5%, he’ll be ineligible to be traded during the 2022/23 season.
Steven Adams‘ two-year extension with the Grizzlies features a flat base salary of $12.6MM in both 2023/24 and ’24/25, with no options or incentives, Hoops Rumors has confirmed. Adams’ new deal doesn’t exceed the extend-and-trade limits, so he’ll remain trade-eligible this season.
As expected, the recent contracts signed by Kaiser Gates (Nets), Brandon Rachal (Nets), and Sacha Killeya-Jones (Thunder) all included Exhibit 10 language.

Heat Notes: Herro, Robinson, Oladipo, Jovic

October 3rd, 2022 at 9:10am CST by Arthur Hill

After waiting all summer for an extension, Heat shooting guard Tyler Herro has agreed to a deal that could top many of his peers, writes Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. Herro’s new contract, which takes effect next season, could pay him up to $130MM over four years, with $120MM guaranteed and the rest available through incentives.

Herro has the opportunity to earn more than the Knicks’ RJ Barrett, who recently agreed to a four-year, $120MM rookie scale extension, Jackson notes. Herro’s deal also exceeds the Celtics’ Jaylen Brown, who got a four-year, $107MM extension in 2019, and the Suns’ Mikal Bridges, who signed for four years at $90MM in 2021.

Herro’s base starting salary will be $26.8MM, which is a 20% discount from the projected max, tweets salary cap expert Albert Nahmad.

There’s more from Miami:

The Heat may find it more difficult to find a taker for Duncan Robinson now that Herro’s extension is in place, according to Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel. With Herro making just $5.7MM this year on the final season of his rookie contract, he was seen as a possible incentive in a deal for Robinson, but the poison pill provision will make Herro extremely difficult to move in 2022/23. Winderman states that the Heat will be limited financially unless they can find a taker for Robinson, especially with Max Strus headed toward free agency next summer.
After four years of battling injuries, Victor Oladipo is just focused on staying healthy this season, Winderman adds in a separate story. “I really don’t have any goals or expectations for myself,” he said. “For this team, it’s to win a championship, obviously. But for me, it’s to contribute. Right now, I’m just focused on doing that. I think that sometimes, if we get too far ahead, or look too far back, that sometimes we can be disappointed, and sometimes you can lose sight of what is in front of you. For me, I’m just trying to stay in the moment.”
Nikola Jovic struggled through Summer League, but veteran big man Udonis Haslem sees a lot of potential in the first-round pick, per Payton Titus of The Miami Herald. “[Jović] can score anywhere on the basketball court, can shoot with either hand, hard worker,” Haslem said. “Just experience, you know, experience is going to be the biggest thing that he’s going to need is this time over here working with us. The practice every day, competing, the physicality of it, getting in the weight room. And all those things are part of player development that we do very well here.”

Heat Sign Tyler Herro To Four-Year Extension

October 2nd, 2022 at 5:31pm CST by JD Shaw

6:28pm: Miami has officially announced Herro’s four-year extension.

“Tyler is an impact multi-faceted player and we are excited to have him signed for the next five years,” Heat president Pat Riley said in a statement. “His improvement every year since we drafted him has led to this day. We believe he will continue to get better.”

5:31pm: The Heat have agreed to a four-year, $130MM contract extension with star guard Tyler Herro, his agents tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald relays (via Twitter) that $120MM is guaranteed, while the other $10MM can be earned via incentives. Herro’s extension will begin in 2023/24.

With the deal, Miami now has both of its young stars, Herro and Bam Adebayo, under contract long-term. The team has a healthy blend of young players and veterans and is expected to once again compete for a title this season.

Herro averaged 20.7 points, 5.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game last year, winning the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year award. He’ll likely make a strong case in training camp for starting this season.

Herro is entering his fourth season with Miami. Last season was his best campaign since being drafted No. 13 overall by the team in 2019. At just 22 years old, he has ample time to continue improving and establish himself as a cornerstone piece for the Heat.

Miami had until opening night to reach an extension with Herro, otherwise, he would’ve reached restricted free agency next summer. He previously said he wouldn’t sign for anything he believes is less than his market value.

“I want to be here. I want to be in Miami,” Herro said. “But I’m not rushed to sign anything. It’s got to make sense for me and my family. I’m not just going to sign anything. I see the market, I see what guys got paid and I know my worth. So I’m looking for the right number.”

Tyler Herro Wants Market Value Before Signing Extension

September 29th, 2022 at 9:16am CST by Dana Gauruder

Tyler Herro wants to sign an extension with the Heat but he’s not going to settle for less than what he perceives as his market value, Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald reports.

Herro is looking for the “right number” before he inks a rookie scale extension, which must happen before opening night. Otherwise, he’ll be a restricted free agent next offseason.

Herro didn’t provide any details on what he believes his market value is but Chiang speculates he could seeking an extension similar to the one RJ Barrett signed with the Knicks late this summer. Barrett inked a four-year deal with $107MM in guaranteed money with another $13MM in potential bonuses.

Herro, the league’s reigning Sixth Man of the Year, will make approximately $5.72MM this season. Yet he was mentioned prominently in trade rumors this summer as Miami pursued a number of high-profile stars. Herro declares he wouldn’t be disappointed by a trade.

“I can get traded or I can stay here, I don’t care. I just want to play,” he said. “I want to play my game, have fun and I want to be wanted. Wherever they want me, I want to be.”

Herro expressed a desire to be a starter this season but has since softened that stance. After last season, team president Pat Riley challenged Herro to get stronger and become a better defensive player to earn a starting spot.

Challenge accepted, according to Herro.

“If somebody challenges me, I’m going to take it as a challenge,” he said. “That’s how my personality is, that’s what I do. And it’s not coming from just anybody. It’s coming from Pat. He wants the best for not only his team, but at the end of the day he wants the best for us individually, as well. If he challenges me, I’m going to take it on.”

Heat Notes: Butler, Martin, Strus, Herro, Lowry

September 26th, 2022 at 5:15pm CST by Dana Gauruder

There’s been plenty of speculation this offseason that with the current makeup of the Heat’s roster that Jimmy Butler will play a lot of minutes at power forward. That’s not a prospect he relishes, he indicated during the team’s media day on Monday (link via Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald).

“I could play the four, yes,” Butler said with a smile. “If they absolutely need me to play the four, I could, yes. If they absolutely wanted to have a conversation about me playing the four, I could, yes. But I’m not playing the four.”

Caleb Martin might be the early favorite to get the starting nod and he’d “love to start” at power forward, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald writes. However, Martin is mainly concerned with being a part of the rotation.

“As long as I’m playing and can be productive, that’s fine,” Martin said, adding that he’s “flattered” that the team passed up on signing or trading for another power forward.

We have more on the Heat as they enter training camp:

At 6’5”, Max Strus wouldn’t seem like an option to start at the “four” spot. He’s open to do anything that would make him a part of the lineup, Jackson adds. “Obviously I want to be starting again,” he said. “That’s my goal.” In part due to injuries to team members, Strus started 16 regular season and all 18 postseason contests last season. “You don’t start in the Eastern Finals and be considered a bad basketball player,” he said.
Sixth Man of the Year award winner Tyler Herro expressed a desire after the playoffs to be a starter this season. Herro, a rookie scale extension candidate, has softened that stance, Chiang notes. “I’m a team player,” Herro, 22, said. “Whatever (coach Erik Spoelstra) and our organization wants me to do, I’m willing to do. Obviously, I have my own personal goals. But at the end of the day, the team is always over what I want to do as an individual player. So whatever they want me to do, whatever role they think fits me best, that’s what I’ll do.”
In June, team president Pat Riley said Kyle Lowry needed to improve his conditioning. Lowry took that criticism with a grain of salt, saying he didn’t do anything differently this offseason and said his conditioning is “not a problem,” Jackson relays in a separate story. “Honestly, he has his opinion,” Lowry said. “Right? Everyone has their opinion and it doesn’t do anything for me. All I do is motivate myself, I always motivate myself.”

Heat Notes: Herro, Okpala, Trade Options, Training Camp

September 17th, 2022 at 8:12pm CST by Arthur Hill

The deadline for rookie scale extensions is just a month away, and the Heat have a major decision to make regarding Tyler Herro, writes Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel. After earning Sixth Man of the Year honors last season, Herro is in line for a new contract that Winderman estimates will exceed $25MM per year, whether that happens in the next 30 days or in restricted free agency next summer.

Winderman believes the most important factor for Miami’s front office is determining whether a significant trade is likely to present itself before the February deadline. Herro could be a valuable bargaining chip in landing another star, but if his extension is already in place, the poison pill provision will make him extremely difficult to move in 2022/23.

Situations involving the players most likely to be dealt this offseason have already been resolved, and no other stars appear unhappy with their current teams. However, Winderman points to the Pacers’ Myles Turner and the Hawks’ John Collins as players who might be available and notes that situations can change rapidly in a few months. He also points out that the rising salary cap means more teams will have money to spend next July, so Herro will be almost certain to receive a generous offer sheet.

There’s more from Miami:

KZ Okpala has a new opportunity with the Kings, but the Heat gave him plenty of chances before deciding to trade him, Winderman states in a separate story. The power forward spent nearly three full seasons in Miami before being shipped to Oklahoma City in February, but he was never able to establish himself as part of the rotation.
Heat fans have gotten used to watching the team pursue star players, but that may not be a realistic option for this season, according to Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. The Heat are the only Eastern Conference playoff team that didn’t add a new rotation player during the offseason, and Jackson notes that no All-Star has tried to force his way to Miami since Jimmy Butler, even though it was rumored as a possible destination for Kevin Durant and Donovan Mitchell. Jackson says it’s a more realistic strategy to use some of the team’s draft assets to target someone along the lines of Turner, Jae Crowder or Bojan Bogdanovic if the Heat need a boost around the deadline.
The Heat will hold training camp in the Bahamas, Jackson adds in a separate piece. Baha Mar, one of the Caribbean’s largest event venues, announced that it has a multi-year deal in place with the team.

Extension Candidate: Tyler Herro

September 6th, 2022 at 2:54pm CST by Rory Maher

This is the first installment in our series examining players who are prime candidates for contract extensions. This series will explore the player’s strengths and weaknesses, and will evaluate what a fair deal between the player and his team might look like. We’re getting underway with a look at the NBA’s reigning Sixth Man of the Year.

Rundown:

The No. 13 overall pick of the 2019 draft after one year at Kentucky, Tyler Herro made an immediate impact in 55 games (27.4 minutes) as a rookie, averaging 13.5 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.2 assists on .428/.389/.870 shooting for a Heat team that came within two games of a championship. He had a strong playoff run in the Orlando bubble, bumping those averages up to 16.0 PPG, 5.1 RPG and 3.7 APG on .433/.375/.870 shooting in 21 contests (33.6 minutes).

Herro improved his counting stats during his second season in ‘20/21, averaging 15.1 points, 5.0 rebounds and 3.4 assists, though his efficiency declined slightly, with a .439/.360/.803 shooting line. As opposed to his strong postseason showing as a rookie, Herro, like the rest of Miami’s roster, struggled mightily while being swept by the Bucks in the first round, averaging just 9.3 PPG, 3.3 RPG and 1.8 APG on .316/.316/1.000 shooting in four games (23.3 minutes).

Herro emerged as the league’s most dangerous bench scorer last season, winning the Sixth Man of the Year award after appearing in 66 games (32.6 minutes) while averaging 20.7 points, 5.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists on .447/.399/.868 shooting. However, he once again struggled in the playoffs with defenses more focused on slowing him down, averaging 12.6 PPG, 3.9 RPG and 2.8 APG on .409/.229/.926 shooting in 15 contests (25.4 minutes).

Strengths:

Among players who officially qualified, Herro ranked 21^st in the NBA in points per game last season. He is someone opposing defenses are forced to game-plan against.

His primary skill is that he’s an excellent shooter from all over the court, ranking in the 63^rd percentile from mid-range, 87^th on threes, and 87^th from the free throw line, per DunksAndThrees.com.

The threat of Herro’s shooting creates space for teammates, which is really important for a Heat team that struggles at times to space the floor. For as valuable as they are at basically every other aspect of basketball, neither Jimmy Butler nor Bam Adebayo is a three-point threat, so Miami’s offense can be a bit crowded at times, especially in half court settings.

Herro isn’t just a shooter either, as he shows some impressive play-making chops at times. He’s capable of creating high-quality looks for himself and others on both scripted plays and on the fly.

He posted a 21% assist percentage last season, which was in the 79^th percentile of all players. He has good vision and is capable of making difficult one-handed cross-court passes, though he definitely looks for his own shot more often than not.

Herro is capable of acting as a lead ball-handler in spot minutes, and while he isn’t the greatest decision-maker yet (1.5-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio), he shows flashes of being able to handle those duties. He’s also a solid rebounder, especially on the defensive glass, with a 15% defensive rebounding rate (59^th percentile).

Improvement Areas:

Physical limitations will likely always be an issue for Herro, which is something that’s mostly out of his control. Though he has decent height for a shooting guard at 6’5”, his wingspan is only 6’4”, he isn’t the greatest athlete, and he isn’t the strongest player, leading to him getting pushed around at times.

Those limitations show up in two key areas. The first is that he’s a below-the-rim finisher, and while he has good touch on floaters, he rarely gets all the way to the rim.

According to Basketball-Reference, only 13.7% of Herro’s shots came within three feet of the basket, compared to 27.9% of his looks from 10 feet to the three-point line. He prefers to shoot pull-ups rather than initiating contact in the paint.

The fact that he attempts so many mid-rangers and doesn’t get to the line a ton hurts his overall efficiency (of the 27 players who qualified for the scoring title and averaged at least 20 points, Herro was 25^th in free throw attempts). His true shooting percentage (56.1%) was a little below league average (56.6%) last season.

The second area that Herro really needs to improve upon is his defense, which has been particularly problematic in the playoffs. He has been repeatedly targeted as a weak defensive link in each of his three postseason trips.

Opponents shot better (45.7%) than expected (44.8%) with Herro defending them in the regular season, and that gap grew during the playoffs (rivals shot 48.9% versus 46% expected), per NBA.com. And that’s with Herro coming off the bench and the Heat trying to hide him on the opposing teams’ weakest offensive players.

Out of 67 players who averaged at least 32 minutes and appeared in at least 30 games, Herro ranked 62^nd in deflections per game with 1.2. He rarely draws charges, and averaged less than one stock (steals plus blocks) per game last season, which is quite poor (0.7 SPG and 0.1 BPG). His steal percentage (1.0%) ranked in the 21^st percentile of all players, and his block percentage (0.4%) was in the ninth percentile, per DunksAndThrees.

Conclusion:

Young players are inherently polarizing because they are not finished products. When you watch them play, you’re ideally looking for positive traits that can be translated into future success, but it’s easy to lose sight of that if they’re on a good team and play a big role.

That’s especially true of Herro, even if it’s a little unfair to someone who’s still only 22 years old. More than most former first-round picks still on their rookie deals, Herro is an eye-of-the-beholder player due to his distinct strengths and weaknesses, some of which have been put under a bigger spotlight because of his team’s success.

Anfernee Simons set the market for emerging young guards this summer with a four-year, $100MM deal as a restricted free agent. That’s probably Herro’s floor for his next contract.

If the Heat believe Herro will continue improving and is worthy of a significant long-term investment, I could see him exceeding RJ Barrett’s deal with the Knicks, which is reportedly worth $107MM guaranteed over four years with unlikely incentives pushing it up to a possible $120MM.

If they want to continue to keep their options open and possibly deal him during the season, the Heat would be wise not to extend Herro to avoid the “poison pill provision,” which would make trading him extremely difficult. Miami would still have the ability to match any offer he might receive as a restricted free agent in 2023.

The risk of not extending him, assuming his agents are open to accepting less than a maximum-salary deal right now, is there’s a non-zero chance he gets a max as a restricted free agent next summer. A four-year maximum contract from a rival team is projected to be worth $142,975,000.

Giving Herro around $30MM a year would lock in an expensive core of Butler, Adebayo, Herro and Kyle Lowry for at least the next two seasons (Lowry is a free agent in 2024). Having said that, extending Herro now could make moving him in the 2023 offseason easier for the Heat in some ways – he’d already be trade-eligible, and his larger contract would make salary-matching for another star less tricky than it is on the end of his rookie deal.

Heat Notes: Herro, Crowder, Mitchell

September 2nd, 2022 at 6:49pm CST by Rory Maher

With Donovan Mitchell heading to Cleveland, the odds of the Heat giving Tyler Herro a rookie scale extension have seemingly increased, according to Barry Jackson and Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald.

As Jackson and Chiang write, the Heat were keeping their options open, but with Kevin Durant agreeing to stick with the Nets, at least for now, and Mitchell off the table, there aren’t any obvious star players to target in a trade.

The reason Herro likely hasn’t received an extension to this point is due to the “poison pill provision,” and our Luke Adams actually used Herro as an example of why extending him would make trading him extremely difficult in our updated glossary entry.

If he theoretically received a four-year, $120MM extension, then Herro’s 2022/23 salary of $5,722,116 would count as the Heat’s outgoing salary figure in a trade, but any team acquiring Herro would have to view his incoming value as $25,144,423 — that’s the annual average of the five years and $125,722,116 he has left when accounting for both his current contract and his (hypothetical) new extension.

The Heat have given extensions to players on rookie contracts in the past, including Bam Adebayo, Josh Richardson and Justise Winslow, Jackson and Chiang note.

Here’s more from Miami:

Jae Crowder remains a possible trade target to upgrade the power forward spot after losing P.J. Tucker in free agency, per Jackson and Chiang, who note Crowder “holds some appeal” to Miami. However, the Suns haven’t indicated they want to move him, and acquiring him would be complicated and require multiple players because the Heat don’t have anyone who is currently trade-eligible to cleanly match Crowder’s $10.18MM expiring salary in a one-for-one deal.
According to John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 FM Phoenix (Twitter link), the Heat never made a formal offer for Mitchell. It’s worth noting that Gambadoro was the first to report that the Cavaliers, who ultimately acquired Mitchell, were pursuing him, so he seemed to have pretty good connections on the situation.
Meeting Utah’s high asking price for Mitchell reeks of a team “desperate to be relevant,” argues Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun-Sentinel, who says the Heat didn’t need to acquire the star guard because they’re already relevant. According to Winderman, Durant was worthy of pushing all the chips in the center for because he’s a “generational talent,” but that isn’t the case for Mitchell.

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