The Miami Heat will open training camp still undecided on whether to lock in guard Tyler Herro to a new contract, a choice complicated by both timing and his health status.
Beginning Oct. 1, the 24-year-old becomes eligible for a three-year extension valued at $149.7 million, with the first season set at $46.2 million in 2027-28—about $6 million below the maximum slot. If no agreement is reached, the two sides could revisit negotiations next summer on a four-year deal worth up to $207 million.
Club president Pat Riley acknowledged the high stakes after last season. “Pay me now or pay me later, whatever it is,” Riley said. “Tyler definitely is deserving of the thought of an extension, but are we going to do it? We haven’t committed to it, but we’re going to discuss it and I’ve already talked to him about it. He’s cool.”
Herro is coming off a career-best campaign in which he appeared in 77 games, averaged at least 20 points for the fourth straight year, shot 47.2 percent from the field and handed out a personal-high 5.5 assists per game. Miami’s offense sagged without him in the lineup last season, posting a minus-8.6 net rating when he sat, a 12-21 record after the Jimmy Butler trade, bottom-10 offensive efficiency and a 14-26 mark in clutch situations (3-12 after the trade). The team also dropped a league-high nine contests in which it once led by 15 or more points.
The decision carries added risk because the guard had surgery on his left ankle and is expected to miss the start of the regular season, leaving a scoring gap even after the offseason acquisition of Norman Powell.
Key dates include Oct. 20, the league deadline to extend Herro and forward Nikola Jović, and Oct. 22, when Pelle Larsson’s salary becomes fully guaranteed. ESPN’s Bobby Marks lists Jović, Powell, Herro, Andrew Wiggins and Terry Rozier as Miami’s primary extension candidates.
Source: Hoops Wire
