Tyler Herro’s Injury Raises Big Questions About Miami Heat’s Future

The Miami Heat’s Tyler Herro underwent ankle surgery this past week and is expected to miss at least two months of action while he recovers. Last year, Herro averaged an efficient 24/5/6 on 47/38/88 shooting splits, so his absence looms large over a Miami roster in an interesting position heading into the 2025 season.

After taking the final playoff spot in the play-in, the Cleveland Cavaliers cruised past Miami in four quick games, ending an overall disappointing season for the Heat. Miami’s made a few moves this offseason, acquiring Norman Powell and dumping Haywood Highsmith’s contract to the Nets for a few second-round picks.

I’m just not sure what the future is for the Heat, especially with Herro missing some time. There’s enough evidence at this point to prove that Herro and Adebayo cannot be the first two options on a team looking to compete for a title. They both have massive flaws in their games, but would be great third options for a contender looking for that last bump to take them over the top.

The Heat’s three highest-paid players — Herro, Adebayo, and Wiggins — are all locked up through next season, but I think if they can move off any or all of these contracts, they would be remiss not to make the move.

None of these players is as valuable as Desmond Bane, but the Grizzlies were able to recover five first-round picks when they traded him to Orlando. So, if that’s the market for third-option players, you have to cash in on your assets when you’re in no man’s land.

If I were to keep any of these guys, I wouldn’t hate extending Adebayo for your next upcoming core. The Heat tend to draft better than the league average, so if they hit on one of their picks, they will then have the open cap space to pay for an actual max-money free agent or use acquired picks to get an All-NBA player.

The best part about Miami is that it will always be a destination location for NBA players. Between the weather, party scene, and culture this organization has built over the years, there should be a long list of players trying to be their new max money guy.

If Miami holds steady with its current roster, fans could be in for a long season; however, the Heat have proven people like myself wrong for years, so I’ll give Pat Riley a longer leash when I disagree with what they’re cooking up.