One of the bigger questions for the Miami Heat heading into the 2025-26 NBA season revolves around Norman Powell's future. If he does end up sticking around, the Heat could extend him at a discount if the recent scuttlebutt surrounding score-first guards across the league holds true.
Echoed by The Athletic's Sam Vecenie, score-first guards across the leagues are struggling to get paid big money. If the chips do fall in a way where the Heat could re-sign Powell for slightly more than the mid-level exception (perhaps between $15-20 million per year), it will be difficult not to pull the trigger.
This narrative also helps explain why Powell was traded for, essentially, pennies on the dollar. Looking back, the Heat only had to part ways with Kevin Love and Kyle Anderson to pry Powell away from the Clippers. That's highway robbery.
Sure, there were probably a couple of other factors at play, including Powell's upcoming contract extension, but it does shed light on where the market is for score-first guards right now in the Association.
Will the Heat have to choose between Powell and Herro?
And if the Heat have to choose between Tyler Herro and Powell, the decision may be easy.
Herro is eligible for a three-year, $150 million extension on October 1. He's likely going to ask for the maximum extension that he can get, which he should 100 percent do, especially coming off an All-Star season. However, I'm not sure the Heat is in a position to pay him that.
Miami is even in much less of a position to pay him that, while also looking to find equal footing on a Powell extension. In many ways, unless something drastically changes, it does feel as if the Heat are heading into the 2025-26 NBA season in which they'll have to eventually choose between Herro and Powell.
The question is, at what number does the Heat feel it's no longer worth going down this path with Herro? It's a question that has been pinballed all offseason amongst Heat fans, and, to be quite honest, I'm not sure if there's a unanimous answer.
Is the line at $45 million per season? $40 million? Maybe the Heat doesn't want to go a penny over $35 million per year. Who knows, but that's part of what makes the addition of Powell that much more interesting.
And as we inch closer and closer to that October 1 date, I can't help but wonder if Miami may have to choose between paying Powell $20ish million per season vs. paying Herro $45ish million per season.
If it does come to that, how would the Heat react? Is Herro $20 million per year better than Powell?
Either way, there's at least a chance Miami will be able to re-sign Powell at a discount next summer. If that does end up happening, it could leave Herro in a very interesting spot. And perhaps deliberately, it would give the Heat that much more flexibility moving forward.