Giannis Antetokounmpo apparently has a case of wandering eyes, which all but ensures the Miami Heat will not be signing Tyler Herro to an extension before the start of the regular season,
According to Shams Charania of ESPN, the two-time MVP came close over the summer to asking for a trade to the New York Knicks. The Big Apple is not Miami. Obviously. That alone is cause for the Heat to reevaluate their appeal to outside stars.
As Charania adds, though, Giannis is expected to use the start of this season to gauge where the Milwaukee Bucks stand relative to the rest of the league, and his desire to contend for another title. This leaves open the possibility that he requests a midseason change, and creates a feeding frenzy among potential suitors.
The Heat being the Heat, they will surely be waiting for the chance to make their own pitch—an overture that demands they pass on a Herro extension.
Tyler Herro cannot be traded if he signs an extension
Miami’s All-Star guard is eligible to sign a three-year deal worth up to $150 million. If the Heat offer him the full boat—or any extension that gives him more than a 20 percent raise off his 2026-27 salary—he cannot be traded for six months.
This restriction takes Miami well past the February 5 deadline. That would remove Herro from any midseason trade package it’s able to make, which should be a non-starter for the front office.
The Heat have already complicated their trade assets by extending Nikola Jovic. He can still be moved, but the poison pill provision stipulates that he’d count for $13.4 million worth of inbound money for another team, and only $2.4 million in outgoing money for Miami. Making that math work smack dab in the middle of the schedule is tricky.
Removing both Jovic and Herro from the table would torpedo any chance the Heat have of acquiring Giannis—or another star—prior to next summer. They are already hamstrung enough without adding another restriction to the table.
Remember, because of the protected pick they owe to Charlotte next June, the Heat cannot include more than two first-rounders in any trades now. Even if they put all of Kel’el Ware, Kasparas Jakucionis, and Jaime Jaquez Jr. on the table, they are not bridging the gap that will exist between them, and offers from other suitors.
We know the Herro situation is going to end
Planning around the potential availability of a player who’s not your own, and who you are not guaranteed to acquire, carries incredible risk. But this is the star Miami has waited on for years—the name who has impacted its future cap sheet, and for whom, according to the Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson, they’re prepared to surrender everything and everyone other than Bam Adebayo.
Leaving Herro unsigned is a small price to pay for keeping that pipe dream as alive as possible. Not only does he remain under contract through next season, but the prevailing consensus has long been that the Heat wouldn’t extend him anyway. And even if he signed a deal that still allowed him to be traded this season, there’s no guarantee his new contract would increase his value.
If Miami is serious about entering the Giannis sweepstakes, there’s only one way for Herro’s extension window to end: without one.