Heat Blog: Does Tyler Herro deserve a max contract extension?

Tyler Herro has seen himself in several trade rumors lately, as the Miami Heat are interested in landing NBA superstar Kevin Durant.

The Heat are willing to construct a package around the reigning Sixth Man of the Year, but the Brooklyn Nets keep asking for more. As a result, Herro remains with the Heat and is preparing for the coming season.

The young shooting guard expects to become a starter this season, while he views himself as a max-level player.

“In some way, I would like to start. I think it’s my fourth year, so I think I’ve earned it, and we’ll see what happens,” Herro told media, after winning the Sixth Man of the Year in late May.

- Advertisement -

While Miami head coach Erik Spoelstra is expected to make Tyler Herro a starter, the Heat don’t view him as a player deserved of a max contract.

“The word on the street is definitely that both [R.J.] Barrett and Tyler Herro are looking for maximum contract extensions,” Bleacher Report’s Jake Fischer said during a recent episode of his podcast, via Heat Nation.

Tyler Herro is now eligible for a five-year, max rookie extension, worth $188M. If there is no agreement between him and Miami by the start of the season, he will become a restricted free agent next summer.

However, the question is whether Tyler Herro really is a max-level player and whether the Heat should spend so much money in re-signing the sharpshooter guard.

Tyler Herro not at an All-Star level yet

Tyler Herro has significantly progressed over his three years in the NBA, especially offensively.

He has gone from 13.5 points in 2019/20 to 15.1 points in 2020/21 to almost 21 points per game in the 2021/22 season (20.7).

As a result, he has become a key part of Miami’s offense and there were many times when the Heat looked lost with Herro out.

This is not enough for Tyler Herro, though, to become an All-Star caliber player, a max-level player. Herro has to prove he is irreplaceable for the Heat and he would do so by establishing a committed and accountable work ethic.

Tyler Herro Heat Sixers-Nets offseason
Photo by Issac Baldizon/NBAE via Getty Images

At the moment, he is impressive offensively, but has to work on his defense and become an elite on- and off-ball defender.

The reason is that it wouldn’t make a difference how many points he could score if the other team would target him defensively and do the same thing.

Therefore, Tyler Herro has to use this offseason and elevate his game in order to become an elite two-way player. If that happens, he will be considered an All-Star caliber, max-level player.

For their part, the Heat have been undecided on how they will proceed with Tyler Herro. They don’t want him to become a restricted free agent next season, but they are unwilling to offer him a max contract extension either.

It is certain the two sides will engage in talks in the coming weeks, aiming to reach an agreement before the start of the season.

Tyler Herro Heat
Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images

Related articles

Share article

Latest articles

Transfers and Rosters

Newsletter

Subscribe to stay updated.