Stop us if you’ve heard this before, but the Miami Heat are entering the upcoming NBA offseason determined to make a major move that vaults them back into contender’s status. They’re tired of lingering around the play-in spot in the Eastern Conference and feel they’ve got the assets and will be a factor in the standings again. It’s been five seasons since the Heat won 50 games, and it’s time to change that.
Said team president Pat Riley just three weeks ago: “We’re going to be very aggressive.”
OK, the cynical Miami Heat fan will remember that Riley says something along these lines just about every offseason, and when it comes to major transactions, the Heat have come up with players like Norm Powell (who was good last season, but not a difference-maker), Terry Rozier (a disaster) and Kyle Lowry (also not a difference-maker).
Now comes this offseason, and the Heat are ready to make a big move. That will almost certainly mean moving off of star guard Tyler Herro, but the Heat have the same problem there that they’ve had in recent years–no one really wants Herro.
Who Wants Tyler Herro?
It was only three summers ago, remember, that the Heat stuck with Herro as the main piece they were willing to give up for Damian Lillard, back when the Trail Blazers had him on the market. Portland did not want Herro, but the Miami Heat did not back off of their offer.
Herro did make the All-Star team in 2024-25, but his 2025-26 season was a wash–he played only 33 games as he dealt with persistent ankle injuries (which still concern teams) as well as a toe and rib injury. The one thing working in the Heat’s favor–Herro is on an expiring contract, though that means less than it used to.
“We used to love expiring contracts because you could clear your books and get into free agency, but now, free agency is dead, and you need to keep salary slots alive to make trades,” one Eastern Conference executive said. “So, before, no one wanted to trade for Tyler Herro because of his contract was too big and no one trusted his style of play, he is a defensive liability, all of that. Now, no one wants him because of the injuries and because the contract is expiring and because he is a little bit disgruntled and all of that.”
Miami Heat May Be Done With Their Star
It’s sort of a no-win situation for the Miami Heat. Still, the hope is that Herro, packaged with other players and young talent (some combination of Kel’el Ware, Nikola Jovic, Jaime Jaquez Jr., and/or Kasparas Jakucionis), plus draft picks, will be enough to get the Bucks to send Giannis Antetokounmpo their way (or Kawhi Leonard, or Donovan Mitchell, and so on.)
Longtime Miami Heat beat writer Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel said this week that Herro does not expect to be back in Miami.
As he said: “I think Tyler Herro thinks he has (played his final game with Miami). I think it’s just been too much. It’s been nonstop, it’s been incessant that you can say, ‘Hey, you only showed up in 33 games this season, you have no right in that.’
“When you hear every single year you’re going to be moved somewhere else, I think it wears on you. I don’t think Tyler Herro can be his best self in Miami. I think he’s been knocked down too many times.”
But the problem is finding a spot where Herro could, indeed, be his best self.
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