It's pretty obvious that the Miami Heat are probably done making significant moves this offseason. However, what they do next (whether they decide to extend him or not) will send Tyler Herro a pretty strong message about his future with the team.
Overall, the Heat have had a pretty stellar offseason. If you can forget about their unsuccessful - and perhaps inauthentic - pursuit of Kevin Durant, it's hard to nitpick at what Miami has done.
They've clearly made it a goal to maintain financial flexibility heading into the 2026 offseason, and there are no moves that they made this summer to jeopardize that. Of course, that's until they make a decision on Herro's future, one way or another.
Herro's extension eligible date
On October 1, the Heat's future outlook is going to change one way or another. Miami is either going to double down on its desire for ultimate flexibility heading into next offseason (perhaps even at the expense of one of its core players), or it's going to lock itself into the status quo.
That's how big of a decision the Herro extension will be.
It will have a huge impact on the future of this franchise and will have repercussions on the team for the next few years.
That's not to say that if the Heat sign Herro to an extension this offseason that it would be a bad thing. It'd just be quite odd, and it would run contrary to how they've operated this summer.
The big dilemma with the Herro extension
Herro is likely to ask for the full three-year, $150 million extension that he's eligible for. Coming off an All-Star season, there's an argument to be made that he's worth the deal. However, at least for the Heat, I'm not sure it'd be in their best interest to pay him that.
If the Heat's goal over the next couple of years is to strike on a superstar player again and creep their way back into championship contention, I can't imagine how they can give Herro this extension and still accomplish that goal.
That's just the unfortunate truth. With the way the current CBA is built, the Heat wouldn't be able to afford three max players without huge tax consequences. To be quite honest, I'm not even sure Miami should be willing to enter the tax with Herro's extension. We've seen how far Herro and Bam Adebayo, alone, can take this team.
And it's not very far.
The Heat have to make a decision. And we're going to find out just how much the Heat values Herro with how they operate the rest of this offseason. One way or another, Miami is going to send Herro a very strong message.
If the Heat extends Herro, it's clear that not only do they believe in him as a leader, but they also strongly believe he has another step up in his game before he reaches his ceiling. If they refuse to extend Herro, it will certainly cloud his future with the franchise.
Miami is in a tough position, and there's no easy way forward. But by the start of training camp, we should get some much-needed clarity on how the Heat is going to approach Herro's future with the team.
At this point, I don't think we should be surprised either way.