The Miami Heat are on the cusp of opening their next campaign, just as the rest of the league is. Facing off against the Minnesota Timberwolves in their first official preseason game of the year, they’ll look to get off to a good start after finishing on what was a real somber achievement last season.
Though they would ride the number one seed in the Eastern Conference all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals, they were unable to get it done in that series. Losing a tough-fought Game 7 clash to the Boston Celtics, they’ll look to put themselves in a position to do just that again in the upcoming season.
And while all of their players will be important, especially their top guys, few will be as important to their fate and success this year as Tyler Herro. A top-25ish scorer in the league last year for a great part of it, Herro was coming up on the last year of his rookie deal.
With a summer of trade rumors and innuendo about his future behind everyone though, the two sides finally got something done.
The Miami Heat and Tyler Herro finally got something done to secure his future with the team. Now, this should be the message for the explosive scorer.
Miami Heat guard Tyler Herro – the NBA’s reigning Sixth Man of the Year – has agreed on a four-year, $130 million contract extension, his agents Jeff Schwartz and Mike Lindeman of @Excelbasketball tell ESPN. pic.twitter.com/n1Z1IW73PX
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) October 2, 2022
With his new extension in hand, the Miami Heat’s first-ever Sixth Man Award recipient can continue to go about the business of actually getting better at his craft. And in that, this is what Pat Riley and the Miami Heat’s message should be to the explosive scorer.
"You got your money Tyler and you got the money you did because you are, indeed, a starting caliber player on about 28 other teams, minimally. Again, the deal and the money associated with said deal screams that.That’s how we feel about you. We feel as though you are a starting-level guy, just not here. And that’s not because you aren’t a starter, it’s just that right now, we work better with you coming in off the bench as the game flows to open, finishing quarters, halves, and games.But also, now go get us 23 points a game in the regular season and see that it translates to the postseason."
It’s really that simple and that should be something that both sides can agree on. Noting that he’s ready for “whatever role” that they deem he needs to fill, this should be a smooth and seamless initiation for the team and Herro.
The money he just got should definitely make all of that more tolerable. Besides, he’ll be playing at the most crucial times, money moments, and will still get more than his share of touches or opportunities to dominate the ball.
This, though, should be the Miami Heat’s post-extension message to Tyler Herro.