Having taken shooting guard Tyler Herro with their top pick in June’s draft, the Miami Heat are undoubtedly expecting big things in the years ahead.
While Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra is one key person who’s expressed his enthusiasm for the rookie, he indicates that any success Herro achieves will have to be earned as was the case with Bam Adebayo and Justise Winslow.
Shandel Richardson of The Athletic questioned Spoelstra on a variety of topics, which included asking about the process of developing Herro into an important part of the lineup.
“Every team is different, like every young player is different,” Spoelstra said. “So, it would be too difficult to predict if he will be brought along like Bam and Justise. The thing I can guarantee is that he is going to have to commit to improvement, and he is going to have to earn everything. Justise and Bam had to learn how to contribute to veteran teams in short bursts. You do that by building trust with your consistent approach, work ethic and willingness to learn. Then, eventually, you earn it with your production with whatever minutes you are given. We feel it is the best way for our young players to ultimately grow and develop, when they understand from day one that the main thing is impacting winning, and that has to be earned.”
Adebayo has played just two seasons for the Heat, but took a big leap forward by taking over the center role during the final six weeks of the 2018-19 regular season. While his statistical averages for the year of 8.9 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.2 assists aren’t attention-grabbing, they were improvements from his rookie season and are hopefully positive indicators for his future.
Winslow showed promise as a rookie during the 2015-16 season, but then saw his sophomore campaign end after just 18 games due to injury. Coming back for the 2017-18 season, he struggled to get back on track and saw his statistical numbers drop.
However, last season, he bounced back to average 12.6 points, 5.4 rebounds and 4.3 assists, while starting in 52 of his 66 games.
In the case of Herro, he’s confident of his abilities but not overly cocky about them. Having grown up in a blue collar town like Milwaukee, he brings a strong work ethic, which Spoelstra and retired guard Dwyane Wade have stated is a strong building block for success with the Heat.
Plenty of eyes will be on Herro during the preseason and they’ll become more focused when the 2019-20 season gets underway on Oct. 23 at AmericanAirlines Arena. That’s when the Heat open up against the Memphis Grizzlies.
