Miami Heat growing “concerned” with Tyler Herro’s celebrity status
Over his last four games, former Kentucky star Tyler Herro is averaging just 7.0 points, 4.0 assists and 3.3 rebounds per contest to go with 29% shooting overall and 14% from three. He’s still averaging 14.8 points and 4.9 rebounds per game on the year, but with a 42.2% field goal percentage and 33.1% 3-point percentage – a 5.5% dip from his rookie campaign – efficiency remains an issue.
But the concerns reportedly extend beyond shooting numbers or his recent slump. According to Ethan Skolnick and Ira Winderman of the Inside the Paint podcast, Herro’s focus on earning celebrity status has become a concern for the franchise.
“Tyler Herro chose to become a celebrity,” Winderman, Miami Heat beat writer for the South Florida Sun Sentinel, said on the podcast. “He chose to become something outside the game, as is his right. With his breakfast cereal, and his ‘Tyler Tuesdays’ and his Chipotle Bowl. That’s all well and good. But you know what? Other players when they see a player doing that before they’ve truly reached it — I don’t know if I want to say there’s a jealousy — but the pro’s pros, when we talk about this, they sort of take a scant view of the guy and say, ‘Wait a minute buddy. You haven’t done anything yet.’”
And the concerns have reportedly been there for “months.”
“Tyler brings a lot of this on himself. This isn’t the first time,” Skolnick of 5 Reasons Sports added. “… Ultimately, the team starts to get a certain level of concern. In this particular case, the team has been concerned now for months. That’s just where we’re at.”
Since arriving in the league, The Bucket has begun dating Instagram models, partnered with Chipotle for his own special ‘Tyler Herro Bowl’ with free delivery on Tuesdays to celebrate ‘Tyler Tuesday’ and created his own breakfast cereal, among other endorsements and opportunities.
Herro, still just 21 years old and in his second year in the league, was drafted with the 14th overall pick in 2019 and helped the Heat make a run to the NBA Finals as a rookie. He averaged 13.5 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game on the year, but upped those numbers to 16.0 points, 5.1 rebounds and 3.7 assists per contest in the playoffs.
Is the franchise making something out of nothing? Or are the concerns valid?
