The Miami Heat’s 2025-26 season ended with elimination in the play-in tournament against the Charlotte Hornets, which marked the end of Tyler Herro’s seventh season in the NBA.
The 27-year-old former All-Star is now on an expiring contract with a $33 million salary owed to him for the 2026-27 season, and reports suggest he could ask to be traded.
According to the Sun-Sentinel’s Ira Winderman, the former All-Star should be under the impression right now that his time in Miami is over.
“I think Tyler Herro thinks he has,” said the senior writer on whether Herro has played his last game in the Heat’s uniform. “I think it’s just been too much. It’s been nonstop, it’s been incessant that you can say, ‘Hey, you only showed up in 33 games this season, you have no right in that.'”
“When you hear every single year you’re going to be moved somewhere else, I think it wears on you. I don’t think Tyler Herro can be his best self in Miami. I think he’s been knocked down too many times.”
“Remember, the Heat told Tyler that if they move him, it’ll be for a Hall of Famer? They’re trying to do the same right now. They’re trying to do it for Giannis; they might do it for Durant, I have a feeling it could be for Lauri Markkanen.”
“I think Tyler needs a fresh start, and the Heat need a fresh start, and we can’t be bringing back the same thing and calling it something different,” Winderman concluded on the Hoch, Crowder, and Solano Radio show.
The 27-year-old played in only 33 games this season as he underwent surgery in September 2025 that caused him to miss the beginning of the season. He bounced back in his return from injury and almost averaged similar numbers as his All-Star season to close out the year.
He averaged 20.5 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 4.1 assists while shooting 48.0% from the field and 37.8% from beyond the arc. But towards the end, it was becoming fairly evident that this is no longer the team that Tyler Herro could fully excel on amid the depth of talented guards like Norman Powell, Davion Mitchell, and the upsurge of Pelle Larsson.
Pat Riley said right after the end of their season that they will be in the market for a whale, like Winderman pointed out. And if they hope to make a compelling offer to any team for a ‘whale’, then it would likely mean that Herro would be included in the package, like he was told.
But since Herro is now on an expiring contract, he has a bit more leverage in terms of commanding where he wants to go. And thus, the anticipation rises that now might be the best time for him to take control of the narrative about his career.
