Heat's Pat Riley takes jab at 'fragile' Tyler Herro after another injury-plagued season
06/05/2024 21:10
The Miami Heat’s season came to an end after they lost their first-round playoff series against the Boston Celtics in five games, and there are some big questions the team will have to answer over the offseason. One of the biggest of the bunch is Tyler Herro’s future with the team, and general manager Pat Riley’s latest comments on Herro will certainly catch the attention of fans everywhere.
Herro struggled with injuries once again in the 2023-24 campaign, as he played in only 42 games in the regular season. Herro was healthy for the team’s playoff run, but he struggled mightily against the Celtics, leading some to ponder his future with the team. When Riley was asked about the latest injury-filled season for the talented young guard, he took a blatant shot at Herro’s durability.
Pat Riley talks about Tyler Herro and his frustrating season filled with injuries. Full response below.
"Well he's been fragile a little bit…" #HeatCulturepic.twitter.com/UIufl06o1L
— Zachary Weinberger (@ZachWeinberger) May 6, 2024
Pat Riley sends warning shot at Tyler Herro
Riley didn’t hold back here, and this will certainly only add more questions to what Herro’s status with the team is. While he’s obviously a gifted player on the offensive end of the floor, Herro’s defensive struggles don’t really fit Miami’s identity, and the fact that he continues to struggle to stay on the court doesn’t exactly help his case either.
It’s not exactly wrong for Riley to say Herro is fragile, but it’s jarring to see him come out and say that to the media. After all, Herro could end up sticking around with the team past this offseason, so what is this sort of comment going to do for his confidence? Maybe it will spur him to focus on his conditioning and health more over the next few months, but it also could have a negative impact on him too.
Herro’s numbers this past season were virtually the same as they have been over the past two years (20.8 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 4.5 APG, 44.1 FG%), but he took a massive step back in the playoffs against Boston (16.8 PPG, 5.4 APG, 3.6 RPG, 38.5 FG%). Admittedly, Herro had to shoulder a bigger load on offense with Jimmy Butler missing the series, but he was brutal on both offense and defense, with the Celtics constantly attacking him on both sides of the ball.
Herro is set to enter only the second year of his four-year, $120 million deal with the Heat, but that’s not an absurdly high amount of money that would prevent the team from moving him in a trade. However, we saw Miami fail in their efforts to trade Herro last offseason for a bigger-name star player, and his value is going to be at an all-time low based on how he finished the season in the playoffs.
If anything, Riley is clearly getting fed up with Herro and his health problems, and it could ultimately lead to the two sides parting ways over the offseason. It’s more likely that he will stick in Miami, but tensions are rising in South Beach, and even if he does stay in town, Herro’s time with the Heat could be coming to an end sooner than initially expected.
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