Tyler Herro had a breakout in the bubble as a rookie, where he played a major role in the Heat’s run to the NBA Finals, but followed that up with just a solid, yet unspectacular 2020-21 season, setting up a very important third year for his hopes in establishing himself as one of the league’s rising young stars.
He succeeded in that goal, winning Sixth Man of the Year after averaging 20.7 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 4.0 assists per game on 44.7/39.9/86.8 shooting splits coming off the bench to get the Heat to the No. 1 seed in the East. After announcing his desire to start this offseason — which was met with an unsurprising “he’ll have the chance to earn that,” from Pat Riley, citing a need for improvement on defense — there was some wonder as to how the Heat viewed their young shooting guard as he became extension eligible.
As training camp opened, Herro had not received an extension like some of the other top players in his class, but on Sunday that changed as the Heat and Herro agreed to a large (but not max) extension that will keep him in Miami for four more years beyond this season, for $130 million.
Miami Heat guard Tyler Herro – the NBA’s reigning Sixth Man of the Year – has agreed on a four-year, $130 million contract extension, his agents Jeff Schwartz and Mike Lindeman of @Excelbasketball tell ESPN. pic.twitter.com/n1Z1IW73PX
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) October 2, 2022
The deal features $10 million in incentives, with a base of $120 million.
Tyler Herro’s four-year extension includes $120 million guaranteed and $10 million in incentives, per source.
— Anthony Chiang (@Anthony_Chiang) October 2, 2022
It is certainly a significant financial commitment from the Heat, and one that indicates they believe he can become more than just a microwave scorer off the bench. Miami is now locked into Herro being part of their core going forward, alongside Bam Adebayo and Jimmy Butler at north of $30 million a year — with Duncan Robinson also locked in at $18 million annually. After making minimal moves this offseason to add talent, Miami is banking on some internal improvement, and Herro figures prominently into those plans with this new deal.
