Miami Heat guard Tyler Herro made it very clear recently that he hopes to be part of the Heat organization for a long time, citing his relationship with head coach Erik Spoelstra as a reason why.
Herro will be coached by Spoelstra as part of the Team USA Select Team this summer. Spoelstra will be the head coach of that squad.
“I think it’s unique because I’m able to just continue to build a strong relationship with coach Spo,” Herro said of the opportunity to be coached by Spoelstra over the summer. “I plan on playing with him for a while, and that’s my plan. I hope that happens.”
Herro’s comments come at a bit of an awkward time, as many Heat fans are much lower on the 21-year-old than they were before the 2020-21 season started. There has been a lot of speculation about Herro potentially being moved this offseason.
The former first-round pick had a stellar rookie campaign in the 2019-20 season, and many Heat fans thought he was going to be a cornerstone for the franchise going forward. That year, he averaged 13.5 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game while hitting 42.8 percent of his shots from the field and 38.9 percent of his shots from deep.
In the 2020-21 season, inconsistency plagued Herro. His overall numbers were decent, as he managed to average 15.1 points, 5.0 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game, but his 3-point shooting regressed, and he struggled in big moments.
Trading away a promising 21-year-old player after one rocky season would be somewhat surprising.
It will be very interesting to see what Herro’s future is like with the team. Surely, there are many fans who also would like to see him stick around in South Florida for the foreseeable future.
