MIAMI — The thought was simple and straightforward.
“I would like to start,” Tyler Herro said in the wake of the Miami Heat’s season ending with their loss to the Boston Celtics in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals. “I think it’s my fourth year, so hopefully I’ve earned it, and we’ll see what happens.”
And, yes, next season will be the fourth for the guard selected out of Kentucky in the 2019 first round.
Until now, playing Herro off the bench has created a comfort zone for Erik Spoelstra’s handling of the Heat roster.
Through three seasons, Herro has started only 33 of his 175 regular-season appearances, five of his 40 playoff appearances.
That has allowed Spoelstra to feature a 3-point specialist in his starting lineup, position Herro defensively against opposing reserves, and balance his rotation.
But at some point, even with all the Heat Culture mantra about sacrifice, a player also earns the right to spread his wings.
In this case, the butterfly effect could be significant.
Based on the current Heat mix, if Herro starts, it would ...
— Move Max Strus to the second unit.
— Which therefore would make it even more difficult to create playing time for Duncan Robinson, as Robinson enters a season when he will earn $16.9 million.
— All but eliminate the possibility of Victor Oladipo gaining an NBA starting role with the Heat, which likely stands as his next goal amid his arduous rehabilitation process from May 2021 quadriceps surgery.
— And, unless Oladipo nonetheless stays or a similar replacement is added, remove a shot creator from a reserve rotation that could otherwise feature Strus, Gabe Vincent, Caleb Martin and perhaps Omer Yurtseven, none of whom are off-the-dribble threats.
Then again, if Herro gets an extension that is projected to fall into the Jaylen Brown range, it would be difficult not to shift an eventual $25 million player into the starting lineup.
For the Heat, a slow play could provide the simplest answer.
Kyle Lowry has two seasons remaining on the three-year, $85 million contract he signed last August. So with patience, Herro could slot into the first team when Lowry, 36, reaches his contract expiration.
But that would require asking for two more years of patience for the 2022 NBA Sixth Man of the Year.
In recent seasons, winners of the award have remained cast in such roles. Jordan Clarkson, the 2021 winner, started only one game this past season. Montrezl Harrell, the 2020 winner, has started only four since. And perennial winners Jamal Crawford and Lou Williams have remained career reserves.
So there is a history of leaving well enough alone.
Which raises the questions of: Is that good enough for the Heat with Herro? And is that good enough with Herro?
As a reserve, Herro led the Heat in minutes this past season, finished a close second to Jimmy Butler in scoring average (21.4 to 20.7). His 1,122 shots were 293 more than anyone else on the roster.
It’s not as if Herro was treated as an afterthought while cast as sixth man.
So perhaps the argument becomes that simple for Spoelstra.
Ain’t broke. Don’t fix. And fire away.
But Herro has been about making a splash since suiting up for that 2019 NBA draft.
Appearances seem to matter plenty.
In the wake of an uneven postseason compounded by a groin strain, Herro noted, “I think people forget that I just turned 22 and it’s still only my third playoffs.”
So perhaps while asking for patience, he can remain patient.
Then the Heat get to start Bam Adebayo, P.J. Tucker (if he opts in or returns in free agency), Butler, Lowry and the best available shooter.
For Adebayo, the wait to start was a two-season delay behind Hassan Whiteside.
For Butler, there also was a two-season apprenticeship as a reserve, in his case with the Chicago Bulls.
For Lowry, it wasn’t until after four seasons that he became a starter with the Houston Rockets.
But as the Heat have shown with some who have started ahead of Herro, from Kendrick Nunn to Robinson to Strus, it’s not solely about putting your best five front and center.
To Spoelstra what matters is get better, be better.
“It might not happen exactly on the timeline that a player or a team may want it,” Spoelstra said of Herro’s ascension to the next level. “But eventually, you just can’t contain that kind of skill.”
