The peculiar ending to Herro’s final days with Heat, as he heads to Milwaukee
In some ways, the final week of Tyler Herro’s Heat employment mirrored his Heat career.
To use the line from the legendary 19th century writer Charles Dickens: “It was the best of times. It was the worst of times.”
On the court, Herro’s Heat career seesawed between the dynamic (the great rookie run in the Finals, the Sixth Man of the Year breakout season, his stupendous first half before his only All-Star Game invite) and the disappointing (injuries that sidelined him for the 2023 playoff run and other extended periods, and some playoff clunkers along the way).
His off-court activity in the final days before he was shipped to Milwaukee included a classy and thoughtful farewell message on Monday but also included perplexing behavior that triggered a social media backlash days earlier.
To recap: On Instagram last week, Herro posted a graphic listing the league’s worst midrange shooters last season. And there, plain for everyone to see, was Giannis Antetokounmpo listed as the worst (at 26.8%) and Bam Adebayo listed as the 10th worst, at 35.9%.
Then an apparent error in judgment, from this past spring, came to light: A Heat fan posted a screenshot of several comments attributed to Herro. Herro did not respond to a text message asking him if he made any of those comments.
We won’t list the quotes from that private spring conversation because they were shared publicly without his authorization. After the fan seemed to try to incite Herro and mentioned Bam Adebayo favorably, there was a comment — attributed to Herro — wondering whether a top tier defender on “some nights” should get paid $60 million.
Adebayo, incidentally, has never been paid $60 million; his current extension tops out with a $57.4 million player option in 2028-29.
Herro likely doesn’t want to call attention to the private comments and that could be why he has declined to discuss them or acknowledge if he made the remarks.
The view here, through the years, is that Herro was something of a scapegoat because he could never develop into a No. 1 scorer as opposed to a key supporting component.
For all the games missed — and the playoff struggles and defensive deficiencies — Herro and Jalen Duren arguably have better career resumes than anyone drafted 13th overall this century except Donovan Mitchell, Devin Booker and two-time All-Star Zach LaVine. For some Heat fans, Herro’s biggest crime was not measuring up to Mitchell or Booker.
As late lottery picks go, Herro outperformed most of them, as evidenced by his Sixth Man of the Year award in 2022, the 2025 All-Star Game invitation, a 19.5 career scoring average and 1,068 career threes (on 38.2% shooting). It wasn’t enough for many fans. But for where he was drafted, the body of work was realistically all anyone should have expected, because Mitchell and Booker are the outliers in that draft slot.
He handled the frequent trade rumors with professionalism, never complained when his role changed multiple times, never griped to the media when the Heat opted against a contract extension last summer and never created any issues or divisiveness in the Heat locker-room.
So this peculiar behavior on social media was out of character.
It also was a misstep. What exactly was the point of posting the midrange numbers of the Heat’s incumbent All-Star and new star?
The private comments attributed to Herro should not have been leaked by the Heat fan who goes by the name “Greg Johnson,” the one with the “Herro Gone” backdrop on his X page.
I asked the fan, who identified himself as a Toronto, Ontario-based accountant, why he shared comments exchanged privately and the background to the story.
In a phone interview, he said that he and Herro have been exchanging Instagram messages since February.
“I told him to retire. And he DMed me talking [expletive]. He knew I was never a fan of his. I said I hoped he got traded. I think he found it funny. He was never nasty to me.”
He said he posted Herro’s private comments because he thought they were “dissing” Adebayo. “I get that people say it’s a bad look, but I posted what people needed to hear,” he said.
The lesson here: Never assume confidentiality in an exchange with a fan. Never say anything privately on social media that you don’t want the world to know.
Herro is justified if he harbors a level of resentment toward the fans who leveled ad hominem attacks. Athletes traditionally encounter vitriol on social media, but a limited number of fans took it much too far with Herro.
He never signed up to be the team’s No. 1 scorer and his salary ($27 million, $29 million, $31 million the last three seasons) isn’t commensurate with a player that’s expected to be. In a private moment in the post-Jimmy Butler era, he acknowledged that ideally there would be a star added to supplement what he and Adebayo provide.
Unbecoming field-goal percentage graphics would not have been the way for Herro to exit Miami, and we imagine he knew that when he tried to make things right with this statement on X on Tuesday:
“Seven years. It’s hard to put into words what this city has meant to me. When Miami drafted a 19-year-old kid out of Kentucky, they believed in me before I’d proven anything. Together, we experienced just about everything this game has to offer. “Two trips to the Finals. Deep playoff runs. Becoming an All-Star.
“The highest highs, the toughest moments, and every lesson in between.
“Through every challenge, every expectation, every rumor, and every setback, I always believed in one thing: put your head down, go to work, and represent the name on the front of the jersey the right way. Every time I stepped on the floor, my goal was to help bring another championship to Miami.
“This city gave me more than a basketball career. It gave me a place to grow up. I became a man here. I became a father here. I built lifelong relationships here.
“Miami became home. To Spo, Pat, Micky, the entire organization, my teammates, the coaches, trainers, equipment staff, arena staff, and everyone who poured into me over the last seven years — thank you. Thank you for believing in me, pushing me, challenging me, and helping shape the player and person I’ve become.
“And to the fans… Thank you for riding with me. Through every big shot, every playoff run, every injury, every rumor, and every season — you showed me love I’ll never forget. Whether you cheered for me in the arena, wore my jersey, or simply believed in me, I felt it. I’ll always be grateful for that support.
“As excited as I am for this next chapter back home in Milwaukee, a part of me will always belong to Miami. “Miami didn’t just shape my career. “It shaped my life. “Thank you for everything.”
It was a noble way to exit and should temper the fallout of the previous week’s firestorm.
“He truly was in every single trade rumor, every single one, which surely is not easy,” Heat forward Nikola Jovic said on a Serbian podcast. “You play for a club and you read this, and you are one of the main players. You are a young player on the rise, truly an incredible, great guy and an incredible player, but you read every summer: ‘He is not good enough. We need someone new and a bigger star.’ It surely was not easy for him.”
This story was originally published July 7, 2026 at 11:13 AM.
