Tyler Herro Turning Himself Into The Very Player The Miami Heat Coveted

What is Miami Heat culture?

The definition tends to shift according to who you ask within the fanbase. Feelings also seem to vary within the team.

P.J. Tucker that’s your cue.

One thing everyone can agree on, though, is that at times the stories can be a bit exaggerated. Needless to say, that is why ESPN’s Mark Jones uttering that Tyler Herro told his trainer to make him Bradley Beal was met with skepticism.

Those aware of Melissa Rohlin’s Fox Sports feature, know there was no fabrication. Not only did Herro watch Beal work out, but he also put in a special request:

"“To me, that was really cool just because he put the ego aside,” trainer Drew Hanlen said. “I think there’s a lot of people that would not have the humility to show up and watch one of his peers work out.But he said, ‘You know what? He is a polished version of what I want to become, so might as well steal as much as I can from him.'”"

Wanting to watch one of his peers prepare is not what stands out here. That is no different from stars admitting that they study and steal from their counterparts.

What is significant is that Herro chose a speculated trade target as a muse. In case the magnitude is lost upon you here—a target that would have to, in all likelihood, see him shipped off to acquire.

Tyler Herro used the offseason to turn himself into the player everyone assumed the Miami Heat were lusting for. But did it solidify his spot?

This is important because of how Herro got here. He went from media darling in his first year to criticized throughout his second.

He was everything from a fluke to overrated to the bait Pat Riley needed to dangle to wrangle a “whale” like Beal. The irony is that Herro’s production actually went up in year two, but he did not impact winning.

In turn, rumors about the reasons for such an occurrence ranged. Was he not focused?

Did the trade talk shake him? Or did the cereal boxes and songs (you know the one) get to his head?

They all could have played a part, yet few acknowledged that conventional wisdom said that Herro would not make another big leap in his sophomore season in the league. Why?

Because his rookie year was actually two-in-one.

Herro went from finishing games to an ankle injury to a shutdown. Then he went to another level during the NBA Bubble Finals run.

But that jump occurred after a four-month layoff, about the same amount of time as a normal NBA offseason. Meaning, he had time to improve his game.

That was totally unlike the 72-day turnaround that would proceed his perceived down season.

After a full summer, Herro’s points per game (20.2), rebounds (4.8), assists (3.9), field goal (43.4), three-point (37.8), midrange (42.3), and floater conversion (40.7) numbers are pretty comparable (23.2, 4.7, 6.6, 45.1, 30.0, 47.1 and (39.3) to the three-time all-star he wanted to borrow from in Beal.

Herro did more than put himself in a sniper’s distance of the NBA’s Sixth Man Of The Year and Most Improved Player awards. He sought out his competition and worked to eliminate him from the conversation.

Now that is Heat Culture.