The Miami Heat and Los Angeles Lakers may be on opposite ends of the NBA championship spectrum at the moment, but they both share one problem that no other team in the NBA would want. And it revolves around the decision to overpay for a seemingly good, but not great player.
Miami has that big decision before beginning October 1, when Tyler Herro becomes contract extension eligible, and the Lakers will have a similar path forward next summer when Austin Reaves can hit unrestricted free agency.
Both teams would clearly want to retain their standout guards, but it's much more complicated than that. Simply put, I'm not sure the Heat and Lakers can afford to pay both Herro and Reaves what they will be asking for while also continuing to build out their respective championship rosters.
Herro's extension will likely be in the neighborhood of $40 million per season and could go upwards of $50 million per season. Reaves' extension will likely be right behind Herro's, if not right on par with his number, especially if the recent reporting is accurate.
The Lakers can follow the Heat's lead
Even though both Herro and Reaves can become unrestricted free agents next summer, the Heat's decision on Herro will be much clearer before. Reaves already declined his max extension offer from the Lakers to explore a much bigger payday next summer.
If the Heat refuse to pay Herro now, it makes their decision on his future pretty clear. After all, there's not much more Herro can do to prove he deserves to be paid at a superstar pay scale. He's coming off an All-Star season with exceptional efficiency numbers.
If the Heat don't believe that Herro, after the season he just had, is worth a hefty extension, I'm not sure they'll ever cross that bridge.
In many ways, the Lakers will be able to use the Heat's lead to navigate their waters with Reaves' upcoming extension talks. If the Heat pays Herro his max number, it will certainly put the Lakers in a much more difficult spot.
However, if the Heat and Herro agree to a less-than-max extension, it could help the Lakers prepare for what the negotiation talks they could be preparing to get themselves into next summer with Reaves.
The Heat and Lakers find themselves in a very similar spot at the moment, and it's probably one that not many, if any, other teams in the NBA would envy to be in.