Heat guard Tyler Herro is having surgery on his left foot that will force him to miss the start of the upcoming season, sources tell Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).
In a full story, Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald states that the procedure, which involves the ankle and foot area, was necessary to fix a “lingering injury” that bothered Herro throughout the summer. While a timetable hasn’t been set for Herro’s return, multiple sources tell Chiang that he’s not expected to be sidelined for the entire season.
Herro began feeling discomfort in his left ankle during an offseason workout, a source tells Chiang. He was given platelet-rich plasma and cortisone injections over the past few weeks in hopes that surgery wouldn’t be necessary, but the pain subsisted and doctors decided surgery was the best option to prevent it from becoming a long-term issue.
Herro, 25, is coming off his best NBA season and his first All-Star appearance. He averaged a career-high 23.9 PPG in 77 games while adding 5.2 rebounds and 5.5 assists per night and posting a .472/.375/.878 shooting line.
Chiang notes that Miami’s offense was far more productive with Herro on the court, producing 8.6 fewer points per possession while he rested. The team struggled to score in general, finishing 21st in overall offensive rating.
Norman Powell, who was acquired from the Clippers in a three-team deal this summer, will likely take Herro’s spot in the starting lineup and will be counted on to replace some of his scoring punch. Powell is also coming off a career-best season, scoring 21.8 PPG with L.A. while shooting 48.4% from the field and 41.8% from three-point range.
Chiang points out that Herro’s absence will come at a bad time for Miami, which faces a difficult early-season schedule. The Heat will play six of their first eight games on the road, including a West Coast trip, and 11 of their first 15 games are against teams that were in the playoffs last season.
Herro will become eligible for an extension with the team next month, Chiang adds. Beginning October 1, he’ll be able to add a three-year, $149.7MM extension to the two seasons (at $31MM and $33MM) remaining on his current deal.
If an extension agreement isn’t reached by October 20, Herro will be eligible for a four-year, $206.9MM extension next summer. That could increase to a five-year, $380MM supermax deal if he makes an All-NBA team during the upcoming season, but he’ll have to appear in at least 65 games to qualify and the surgery may make that difficult.
A league source tells Chiang that Herro and his agent are expected to meet with team officials in early October to begin extension talks. He adds that team president Pat Riley indicated in May during his season-ending meeting with reporters that a Herro extension might not happen until 2026.
“Pay me now or pay me later, whatever it is,” Riley said. “We’ve already talked about it. I talked about it with Tyler, and so we’ll see what happens as we plan. The numbers are getting pretty big for a lot of guys. Max salaries in this league, who do they go to? I mean, who do they go to and who is really? If you’re going to make $70 million a year, who are those five or 10 guys that deserve that? But Tyler definitely is deserving of the thought of an extension. But are we going to do it? We haven’t committed to it, but we’re going to discuss it and I’ve already talked to him about it. He’s cool.”