It’s time for the Miami Heat to trade Tyler Herro. If the Heat’s plan is to acquire a superstar player in 2026, it’s almost impossible to envision a scenario in which Miami is able to pull that off while also giving Herro the contract extension that he (probably) deserves and one he’ll likely be asking for in October.

And with the way the Heat has been operating so far this offseason, they may be a team that could already be building in that direction.

Tyler Herro has exceeded expectations

This is not an indictment of Herro by any means. Even though Herro’s been an easy target (especially on social media) over the last couple of years of his career, he’s done everything the Heat has asked of him. And then some.

He’s worked on his craft endlessly, and it paid off as he was named to his first All-Star team last year. For a player that was selected outside the top 10, it’s pretty safe to say that he’s already exceeded all expectations.

In the process, though, he’s fallen into this weird existence as a player where, while he may deserve a max contract, any team that gives him one would put themselves in a pretty difficult spot financially. It’s a place that even the Heat couldn’t have envisioned playing out just a couple of years ago.

Nevertheless, as Herro becomes contract extension eligible in October, he’s going to ask for the full three-year, $150 million contract. Considering he’s coming off an All-Star campaign, it’d be hard to blame him. But from the Heat’s perspective, there’s no way they can pay him that (because of the CBA) while also moving forward with their plan to acquire a superstar player in 2026.

The Heat can’t paralyze themselves with a Herro extension

Giving Herro that $50 million per year contract extension, or even anything close to that, would all but eliminate the Heat of having any legitimate chance to significantly upgrade the roster any time soon. The quick rebuttal to that is the Heat could always trade Herro.

I’d strongly push back against that assessment without knowing if there’s any ceiling left for Herro to hit. There’s a very real chance we’ve already seen the best of Herro and, if that’s the case, even for as good as Herro can be, I can’t envision any team lining up to trade for that contract.

If the Heat were to give Herro the extension he’s going to be asking for, they’d effectively be locking themselves into a foundational core of Herro and Bam Adebayo for the foreseeable future. And we saw this past season just how far that duo got them.

There’s no question this is a difficult situation for the Heat. They love their developmental success. But there always comes a time when it’s just right to cut ties with a player. The Heat may have arrived at that moment with Herro.

Sure, the Heat may not land a superstar in 2026, but if they traded Herro now, they’d at least have the shot (with the financial flexibility and draft capital) to do so. If the Heat were to give Herro the extension, it’d pretty much eliminate all their chances of that possibility.

Miami is in a tough spot. But this front office is paid to make the difficult decisions. The writing is on the wall. Everyone can see it coming. It’s not personal, but it’s time for the Heat to trade Herro.