The Miami Heat's pursuit of a star player aside, one of the bigger offseason questions that they must answer will revolve around choosing between Tyler Herro and Norman Powell. Interestingly enough, the answer may be one that no one is expecting. It's time for the Heat to move on from both.
Theoretically speaking, the Heat can't afford to keep both due to financial reasons. Because Powell is a free agent after this season, and Herro will enter the final year of his contract in 2026-27, you'd imagine a decision will have to come pretty soon.
The Heat need to move on from both Herro and Powell
But instead of signing Powell to a new contract (and likely an expensive one) or inking Herro to an extension, it may be in the best interest of the Heat to move on from both this summer.
From both a financial and on-court perspective, the Heat may be better off without making the commitments that both players are seeking.
It would be financially irresponsible for the Heat to commit long-term money to either player. While Herro and Powell do have their respective value as offensive players, they don't necessarily fit the Heat's current team build.
Miami is not close to a championship, and unless they can pull off a move for a star difference-maker early in the offseason, it doesn't make much sense to lock themselves in with big money guarantees to such niche players.
There are situations where Herro and Powell would make sense on 2-3 year deals. However, at least where things currently stand for the Heat's roster, it's hard to imagine how it would be for the Heat.
The Norman Powell honeymoon is over
On the court, Herro and Powell have had very odd seasons. Herro missed the majority of the first half of the season due to injury, and while he's been productive during his time back, his overall value to winning is still very much in question.
Considering that's still in question in year seven, that's not ideal. And it's hard to imagine that's going to improve by just giving him a contract extension.
Powell had a great first half of the year, but injuries have told much of the story of his second half of the season. Since his recent return from injury, he's also been an odd fit next to Herro. And he hasn't been close to the impact player he was during the first couple of months of the year.
Clearly, it's complicated his overall fit on the team moving forward.
And with those types of questions, the Heat could very well ease some of their future complications by cutting bait with both Herro and Powell. But, to be quite honest, I'm not sure that's a resolution most expected just a couple of months ago.
Especially if the Heat's season does end up flaming out in epic fashion once again, it may be time for some big changes. And it very well must begin with both Herro and Powell on the outside looking in.