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Countdown to camp: Heat’s Tyler Herro as shooting star? He appears open to moving forward

ira winderman, south florida sun-sentinel
·4 min read

Last in a five-part series of positional breakdowns ahead of the Heat’s Tuesday start of training camp at Florida Atlantic University.

MIAMI — It has been, to say the least, a long-and-winding road for Tyler Herro.

At the close of the 2021-22 season, he was named NBA Sixth Man of the Year and then, months later, anointed to the Miami Heat starting lineup. From there, he buried clutch, game-winning shots at the start of 2022-23 to keep the Heat afloat during a rocky open to the season, at one point considered a potential All-Star.

And then he was gone, a broken right hand sidelining him from last season’s playoff run during the first half of the first game of the postseason.

And then he practically came to be viewed in the past tense, as the prime chip the Heat could put into play in a trade gambit for Portland Trail Blazers All-Star guard Damian Lillard.

Now? Now, with Lillard instead dealt to the Milwaukee Bucks, Herro stands as the most logical answer for the Heat as the team’s scoring guard, whether to be featured at point guard or shooting guard.

Because for as much as the Heat might have coveted Lillard’s playmaking, it was Lillard’s scoring that seduced. For all that was accomplished by the Heat in advancing to last season’s NBA Finals, the reality was the Heat eclipsed 95 points only once in losing that series 4-1 to the Denver Nuggets.

With Herro, there at least would have been a chance for more offense. Now, even with the Heat’s question marks at point guard, Herro sets up at the logical choice at shooting guard.

Of course, there will be bridges to mend both at Monday’s media day and then Tuesday’s start of training camp in Boca Raton at Florida Atlantic University.

But for his part, even after conducting his pre-camp workouts away from Kaseya Center, Herro, at 23, seemingly has come to grips with the business side of the NBA.

To a social-media post of his escaping yet another round of offseason rumors, Herro replied simply, “Until next summer.”

But he then also playfully posted. “In all seriousness . . . as a kid from Milwaukee, I’m grabbing me a Dame jersey.”

Then again, for all of the potential sense of slight, this also is the season Herro begins the four-year, $130 million ($120 million guaranteed) extension he signed before last season.

So the money is there.

The need for scoring is there.

Depth chart

Tyler Herro: For as much as Damian Lillard is known for Dame Time when it comes to deciding situations, Herro stood out last season with his own clutch play, closing last season 42 of 42 from the line in the fourth quarter, with his overall .934 on free throws the best percentage in the franchise’s 35 seasons. Also somewhat overlooked, amid the Lillard lust, was Herro joining Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo averaging 20 points last season, including consecutive games in December when he scored 76 points. Also, during a regular season when most of the Heat roster struggled on 3-pointers, Herro had a 17-game streak of multiple 3-pointers.

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Duncan Robinson: With the loss of Max Strus in free agency to the Cleveland Cavaliers, Robinson stands as somewhat of a swing vote. The regular season largely was a struggle, exacerbated by a six-week absence at midseason for finger surgery. The playoffs then were somewhat of a revival, again functioning as a spacing deep threat to open the interior for Butler and Adebayo. As with Herro, there were plenty of trade rumors over the offseason. And with three more seasons left on the five-year, $90 million deal signed in the 2021 offseason, there figures to be even more for Robinson as the Heat move forward with pending luxury-tax concerns.

Alondes Williams: Had there been a multiple-player swap for Lillard, there likely could have been additional opportunity for the former Brooklyn Nets guard who went undrafted out of Wake Forest in 2022. Now the likely path forward will be a shift to the Heat’s G League affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce.

What’s changed

With Strus and Victor Oladipo gone, the creativity at shooting guard is limited beyond Herro, even when factoring in potential minutes at the position for Josh Richardson, Caleb Martin, Jaime Jaquez Jr. and even R.J. Hampton.

Of the group that remains, Herro arguably stands as the lone option at shooting guard capable of creating his own offense. And with the Heat’s scoring struggles last season, that remains a concern.

While the Heat have a depth of options at shooting guard, they do not necessarily have a depth of scoring styles.

The Lillard impact

Had Herro or Robinson been sent out in a trade for Lillard, there would have been ample opportunity for minutes from those who remained. Instead, with Lillard traded by Portland to the Milwaukee Bucks, opportunity could be limited for the wings brought to camp on tryout deals.

Now the question is the impact the Lillard machinations had on Herro’s psyche, and if the perception is of Herro again as consolation prize.