Miami Heat youngster Tyler Herro was a hero in the bubble as a rookie. His stock skyrocketed so much he had a song named after him. The Heat were hesitant to include him in major trades in anticipation of an even bigger breakout.
Perhaps that breakout comes in the future, but Herro's sophomore season can only be viewed as a disappointment. While his overall numbers don't look all that bad, there simply wasn't enough improvement to match the hype Herro got coming into this season after his bubble performance.
Herro started to show some signs of life at the tail end of the regular season after a sluggish start, only to be a complete non-factor in the playoffs against the Milwaukee Bucks. Now, it's fair to say that basically every Heat player was a non-factor against the Bucks, but it was the spoiled cherry on top of a disgusting sundae for Herro in Year 2.
This now leaves the Heat wondering just what they have in Herro. Is he soon-to-be All-Star who can help Miami contend right now and long into the future after Jimmy Butler moves on? Or is a he just a guy who will provide fun moments but never amount to anything more than a spark plug off the bench. There's obviously plenty of room between these two outcomes, but Miami has to take everything into account as it tries to build around Butler and Bam Adebayo after a disappointing playoff exit.
Pat Riley is publicly sticking behind Herro. Firmly, at that:
Pat Riley would like to make this clear on Tyler Herro: "He's a core player. That's all there is to it."
— Tim Reynolds (@ByTimReynolds) June 3, 2021
This could very well be true. However, what else would Riley say? He's not going to throw Herro under the bus if he truly thinks otherwise, but you do have to wonder if Riley regrets being a bit stubborn with the guard in trade talks.
The good news is Herro is still just 21 years old. The Heat just dealt with a roller-coaster ride of a season that featured a lot of uneven play in large part due to injuries and COVID-19. Perhaps Herro had a hard time dealing with the circumstances of this season, especially after the short turnaround from the bubble.
Nobody should be giving up on Tyler Herro. He could still wind up being awesome. This season just raised some doubts about how good he actually is and will be, and this adds more uncertainty in South Beach as Riley plots his next moves.
Then there's Victor Oladipo, but that's for another time.
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