Herro offers behind-the-scenes look inside his Heat contract extension. And Jovic feedback
A six-pack of Miami Heat notes on a Tuesday:
▪ Tyler Herro gave me an inside look into negotiations on his contact extension, and two things are now clear:
1) The Heat valued him so much that it significantly increased its initial offer, which is hardly unusual in negotiations. The sides ultimately agreed to a four-year deal with $120 million guaranteed and another $10 million in potential incentives.
2) Contrary to public perception, the Heat never held off on an extension offer for the purpose of keeping alive the possibility of trading Herro for Donovan Mitchell or anyone else. (It became clear by early July that the Nets weren’t serious about trading Kevin Durant, who drew the interest of the Heat and many other teams.)
Herro said Tuesday that the Heat made its initial extension offer on July 1, the first day that he became eligible for one. The first offer was four years, $100 million, Herro said.
The Heat, over the ensuing weeks, raised the offer to “like $112 [million], then $120 [million] and then $130” million, factoring in potential incentives, Herro said.
What was the magic number for Herro to agree to a deal?
“Thirty [million] a year,” he said.
Why $30 million?
“There’s a lot of great young players in the league that got paid and I’m not saying I’m better than anyone. But I’m in the same category as young great players coming up in this league and I knew my worth. Thirty million a year is what I thought I was worth.”
Herro did not speak directly to Heat executives during the negotiating process. He left that to his CAA agent, Jeff Schwartz, who “called me every time he got off the phone with them.”
Herro gave Schwartz the authorization to accept the four-year offer that could be worth $130 million.
Herro said he never spoke to Pat Riley during the process until the day that he agreed to terms (Sept. 25).
“I didn’t talk to Pat at all until the day it was time to get it done,” Herro said. “I saw him in the morning and he said, ‘Congratulations and he’s really excited to have me here.’ When I got drafted this is where I wanted to be for a while.”
Signing the extension essentially makes him nearly impossible to trade for a year because of arcane salary cap rules.
Did Herro want that stability, knowing signing an extension would make it tough for the Heat to trade him?
“A little bit,” he said. “I wanted to be here if they wanted me here. It was a matter of coming to an agreement on a number and we did and so I’m happy I’m here.”
The fact the Heat made offers to Herro as early as July reaffirms what a team source said, that the Heat always wanted to extend Herro and wasn’t delaying to use him in a trade package.
The trade restrictions involving Herro, explained here, won’t be lifted until July 1.
▪ The money on Herro’s new deal doesn’t kick in until the 2023-24 season; he’s due to earn $5.7 million this season in the final year of his rookie deal.
Any big purchases on the horizon?
“Not yet,” he said. “I’m going to try to move my family to a bigger house. That’s what I’m going to do before the money kicks in. Me, my daughter, my son, my girl, we’re all going to move to a [bigger] house down here. That would be my big purchase.”
▪ Among those who reached out to Herro from other teams to congratulate him on the extension: Dallas guard Tim Hardaway Jr. and Suns All-Star guard Devin Booker, a fellow former Kentucky Wildcat.
“Tim Hardaway, I have good relationship with him. Devin Booker, a bunch of guys reached out. It was nice to see. My peers respect me and were telling me how deserving I was of it. It’s just the beginning. Got to continue work and keep getting better.”
▪ Heat rookie Nikola Jovic, who continues to impress in preseason, played well during a stint at center on Monday against Houston.
“These young guys, [Jamal] Cain and [Haywood] Highsmith, have taken a lot of those minutes at the four [power forward]. So it was like, ‘Alright, where else can we go to get him out there?’” Erik Spoelstra said.
“And that’s been at the five [center] and I really just kind of did it initially to just see what happens and let’s just give him those minutes. He’s responded well. He’s had some really good moments. He’s had some moments where he’s gotten beaten up a little bit [and] he’s had some moments where he’s made some mistakes.
“But he’s very coachable, he takes responsibility and he really works at trying to correct things that didn’t go well. And I think that also is a skill, when you can see something and not make the same mistake over and over and over.”
Jovic had 12 rebounds in just 23 minutes on Monday.
“He rebounded pretty well over there [in Serbia],” Spoelstra said. “You just don’t know analytically if that translates to the NBA. So I was just kind of hoping to see that. Initially, I didn’t even envision playing him as a five. We’ve been doing that more so at the five. We’ve been doing that more for the development and to get him out there.”
Per HoopsHabit’s Simon Smith, Jovic’s numbers on Monday – 15 points, 12 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals & 2 threes in 23 minutes - have never been achieved in a regular season game in 23 minutes or less.
▪ Count Bam Adebayo among those impressed with Jovic, and intrigued by a potential frontcourt pairing with him at some point.
Adebayo said the advantages of playing them together would be “spacing, passing, the height, the versatility.”
Both can pass and rebound. With Adebayo continuing to expand his range, both can shoot from the perimeter. Adebayo is 6-9, Jovic 6-11.
“Sounds good,” Adebayo said of the possibilities.
The two almost assuredly will be paired together at times eventually. The question is how soon, as Jovic - only 19 - adjusts to the NBA game.
▪ Forward Jamal Cain, a revelation of Heat training camp and preseason, played one-on-one against Jimmy Butler after practice on Tuesday. Cain, whose training camp deal was converted to a two-way deal on Sunday, has earned Butler’s respect.
“Not too many people can beat me one-on-one,” Butler cracked. “He damn sure can’t do it. Some people have an opportunity. But one-one-one, like get a bucket, get a stop? That’s what I do.”
But he also played at Marquette, a reporter playfully noted.
“I’m whooping that [butt],” Butler joked. “I ain’t got time.”
But seriously…
Butler said Cain has earned his respect “without a doubt. He’s been playing incredibly well right now. He’s trying to prove his worth in this league, which I think he’s an NBA player. He rebounds. He guards. He’s actually shooting the ball incredibly well right now, and he listens.
“I think that’s the biggest thing to do whenever you’re coming into a team with vets and even younger guys, you’ve got to be able to learn and play that role. He’s doing that greatly.”
Cain can appear in as many as 50 of the Heat’s 82 regular-season games, in accordance with the NBA’s rules on two-way contracts.
This story was originally published October 11, 2022 at 4:57 PM.
