Miami Heat Roundtable: Tyler Herro/Bam or Donovan Mitchell/Bam for next 10 years?

Miami Heat: Herro/Bam or Mitchell/Bam for next 10 years – Noah’s Take

We have seen Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo develop chemistry on the court for the Miami Heat for several years now. The young Kentucky products complement each other with the way one creates shots and spaces the floor while the other defends well and uses his strength inside near the basket.

Noah’s Take (@ndeckerbuckets)

We have recently seen Bam Adebayo play with Donovan Mitchell in a Miami summer league. It is clear that the two get along well.

Mitchell has been involved in trade rumors this offseason—and the Heat are one of the teams that have the potential to trade for the young star.

Between Tyler Herro and Donovan Mitchell, who is the best to pair with Bam Adebayo for the next 10 years? To answer that, we need to keep a few things in mind.

The first is age. Donovan Mitchell will turn 26 years old this season, while Tyler Herro is only 22 years old.

In 10 years, Mitchell would be 36 and likely towards the end of his playing career. At 32 years of age, Herro would still be playing at the pinnacle of his basketball abilities.

You could argue that Herro wins this battle because he is younger, but when you consider the fact that Bam is 25, his skill progression will line up better with Mitchell with respect to their ages.

The next thing to consider is money. Donovan Mitchell will demand a max contract from the Miami Heat.

Although the Heat can likely afford to pay him the max down the line, it makes building a team around two stars a little more difficult. Herro is currently a borderline All-Star.

While he may not be worth a max quite yet, he will probably demand a contract at least close to that for a good chunk of his career. This all goes to say that keeping Herro wouldn’t be too much of a bargain for trading for Mitchell instead.

The last piece to consider is skill and fit with the team. Donovan Mitchell is clearly the better player, but let’s give Herro some credit.

Tyler has consistently improved each year. As previously mentioned, he is still young, so he has the potential to become an even greater player in the NBA.

That being said, Mitchell is more reliable as both a scorer and a playmaker. He outmatches Herro in the skill department, all while having a sharp three-point shot that would be useful in the pairing with Bam Adebayo.

Putting all of these factors together, it becomes clear that Donovan Mitchell would be the better fit alongside Bam Adebayo. It might be difficult to trade for him, but it would assure that Bam would have a legitimate star playing with him for his peak years in the NBA.

That sounds like it would be worth it for Miami.