Tyler Herro is eligible to sign a three-year, $149.7M extension as of October 1. But if the Miami Heat are truly trying to optimize their chances of a Giannis Antetokounmpo trade, they won’t give it to him.
It isn’t so much about the cost, though that’s clearly worth a discussion. If Herro signs an extension, he cannot be traded for six months. Since he can’t put pen to paper until October, his restriction won’t lift until after the February 2026 deadline.
Miami can of course build Giannis packages without Herro if the two-time MVP becomes available. But without knowing for sure what the Milwaukee Bucks will prioritize in potential (inevitable?) talks, it doesn’t make sense to remove any prospective assets from the table.
Giannis could become available at any time
Most assume the Bucks waiving and stretching Damian Lillard to help sign Myles Turner is proof that Giannis has no plans to request out. It’s at the very least a signal Milwaukee won’t make a move unless he does.
Still, Giannis was recently asked about his plans, and his answer was noncommittal at best. So long as he leaves the door to a trade request open, plenty of teams will be waiting to see what he does before going about other long-term business.
File the Heat under that list of squads. They were among those who held back in Kevin Durant trade negotiations because they’re saving their assets for a run at Giannis.
Extending Herro runs completely counter to that plan. Though many believe any Giannis trade will go down over the offseason, be it this one or next summer, more stars are getting moved midseason.
Just consider some of the most recent names to switch teams. Luka Doncic, Anthony Davis, Pascal Siakam, OG Anunoby, De’Aaron Fox, James Harden, and more were all moved in-season. The same goes for Durant himself, when he was shipped from Brooklyn to Phoenix. Giannis’ fate may not play out the same way, but the point stands. Miami must be ready for anything.
Why the Bucks could covet Tyler Herro
Locking up Herro in October doesn’t become much of an obstacle if the Bucks won’t have interest in him. They will.
Milwaukee doesn’t control its own first-round pick until 2031. It has zero incentive to be as bad as possible even without Giannis—unless it's recouping some of its own first-rounders. That’s not happening in any deal with the Heat.
Herro hits that dual-timeline middle ground. He helps the Bucks remain competitive now, but he doesn’t turn 26 until January. He’s young enough to stick around for a while, or to be rerouted in a later deal for extra value.
The same cannot be said of Andrew Wiggins, who will turn 31 in February. Ditto for Norman Powell, who just turned 32 in May.
So while Miami could theoretically build a trade for Giannis without surrendering Herro, its best possible package has to include him—which means, barring a change in Antetokounmpo’s position before October 1, the Heat should pass on offering their All-Star guard a new deal.