Want to find a reason to buy the Miami Heat as potential sleepers for the upcoming 2025-26 NBA season? Look no further than the backcourt, where you'll find both Tyler Herro, fresh off his All-Star debut, and Norman Powell, whose deeply discounted trade to Miami was preceded by him pouring in a personal-best 21.8 points per game this past season.
You'll just want to look quickly, though, as this perimeter pairing probably isn't built for the long haul. That's because Herro will soon become eligible for a contract extension (and perhaps some awfully uncomfortable negotiations), and Powell's deal is set to expire after this season.
While there's a universe in which the Heat could pay both, that would effectively torpedo their long-term plans of pursuing a superstar. In other words, this backcourt—or, more specifically, this cap situation—probably isn't big enough for both.
The Heat will likely have to decide between Herro and Powell by next offseason.
If the Heat can only afford one guard going forward, settling this debate won't be as simple as it might seem to some.
On paper, it feels like Herro should be the odds-on favorite to stick around. He's younger (25 to 32), more productive (23.9 points and 5.5 assists to Powell's 21.8 and 2.1), and more ingrained with institutional knowledge, having spent the duration of his pro career in South Florida.
Speaking of paper, though, Herro is sure to cost a lot more of it. Come October 1, he'll be eligible to sign a three-year extension worth nearly $150 million. And you can almost guarantee he and his representatives will seek either that full amount or something very close to it, given that aforementioned blend of age (and the perceived upside attached to it) and ability.
So, while it seems safe to label Herro as the superior player, that's not the same as saying he's the one Miami should want to pay. Powell has never been regarded as a primary building block—though he did a ton of heavy lifting in helping the Los Angeles Clippers stay afloat without Kawhi Leonard last summer—but that should be baked into his contract cost. He might also be easier to fit into a puzzle, since his game won't require forming the puzzle around it the way Herro's could.
Herro has a deeper offensive bag, a surer outside shot, and a greater penchant for passing. Powell, though, might have the edge as a finisher and defender (the latter dealing more with Herro's limitations than Powell's strengths).
This won't be an easy call, particularly if the Heat's decision-makers feel like this roster needs more to crack the championship conversation. They do, at least, have a little time to figure things out, but there's still a ticking clock tagged onto this twosome.