Over the last few weeks, the hype surrounding Pelle Larsson has grown extensively, and understandably so. However, in somewhat of a shocking move, the Heat doubled down on all that noise by putting their money where the Larsson hype is.
Officially, the Heat have agreed to a four-year, $60 million extension with Larsson. As he prepared to play the final season of his rookie contract, the Heat moved to give him an extension that will pay him roughly $15 million per season.
It's a move that the Heat's front office felt they needed to make with the expectation that Larsson is going to have a breakout season for the team.
Pelle Larsson may be primed for a breakout year in Miami
Larsson is coming off a great second year in Miami, in which he averaged 11 points, four rebounds, and three assists per game on 50 percent shooting from the field. However, as he prepares for his third year in the league, there's an expectation that he's going to have his best year yet.
Miami decided to take the gamble now, rather than to allow Larsson to play his way out of affordability for the Heat. Essentially, it's a down payment on what the Heat is hoping will be a very good season from Larsson.
With the way he's looked all summer long, how could the Heat not make such a move? He's impressed during his time in FIBA play with Team Sweden and is even getting national recognition as a player who could be in line for a breakout season.
Heading into the first year of the Giannis Antetokounmpo era, the Heat are going to need Larsson to play a big role too. It'd very much behoove both sides if that ended up happening.
However, as the Heat know all too well with Nikola Jovic, the national love and extension won't mean much. If Larsson doesn't take the next step in his development, as everyone seemingly expects, this is one of those extensions that could be viewed as a mistake in retrospect.
Either way, by the end of this upcoming season, this extension decision is going to go one of two ways. It's either going to look like the best possible move that the Heat could've made, with Larsson taking a big step in his development and this extension looking like a bargain, or it's going to be remembered as a poor swing and miss.
The Heat and Larsson are clearly hoping it's the former.
Regardless, there's no question that the Heat have called their shot with this extension move. They believe Larsson is about to take a big step forward in his development. Time will tell whether that ends up being the case or not.
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