The Miami Heat are in a weird spot as they begin to look at the limelight of Jimmy Butler’s career. Who will be the guy for this Miami Heat squad? Who will be the next Butler, the next Dwyane Wade? More importantly, who will even be on the Heat roster for the next era?

Many believe coming into the season the team needs to be built around Bam Adebayo. But to begin the year, it appears to be Tyler Herro rising from the ashes to save the day and be Miami’s hero.

Amidst all the trade rumors Herro has navigated in his career, he is coming on strong this year. Through the first 10 games, Herro leads the team in points per game (24.9), assists (5.3), and 3-pointers made (4.6). These, along with a 50.9% shooting clip and 47.9% from deep would all be career-highs for the 24-year-old out of Kentucky.

This proves two theories to me:

a) It would benefit players to stay in college for multiple years. Even the highest of lottery picks can struggle to adjust to the NBA. You have your exceptions like Victor Wembanyama and LeBron James who can arrive on Day 1 and make an immediate impact. Young freshmen come in with a lot of talent, and depending on their first team’s rotation, they might not get the playing time or might have an immense amount of pressure early on that can shake a player’s confidence… which brings me to my second theory.

b) We can’t give up on players so early. Herro’s heard trade rumors since his second year in the league. He’s only 24 years old. Why would you give up on a high draft pick who hasn’t hit his prime yet? Herro’s been a 20 PPG scorer since the 2021-22 season and that isn’t good enough for some, that people would rather trade for an aging All-Star than letting Herro develop with the team around him?

Bam Adebayo was anticipated to be the centerpiece of the Heat team coming into this year, but that hasn’t been the case yet with Herro’s emergence as a legitimate #1 option. And that’s okay if Adebayo isn’t the main focal point of this team moving forward. This isn’t an “either-or” situation. You need a solid team to compete. You aren’t picking Tyler Herro over Bam Adebayo, you can have both.

You should pick Herro. Let this week’s Detroit Pistons game be proof. 40 points (10 three-pointers made), 8 assists, 5 rebounds, and 4 steals. Herro is one of four Heat players to have 10 threes in a game, and the only one to do it twice. Herro and Stephen Curry are the only players in NBA history to record 40 points, 10 threes, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, and 4 steals in a single game. If not for a rare blunder for coach Erik Spoelstra, which he fully owned up to, Herro leads this Heat team to victory on his back.

Tyler Herro is coming into his own. The Heat were patient and it’s paying off with the new buzzcut look for Herro, and a new look for how the Miami Heat will look in the later years, or even after, the Jimmy Butler era. Heat fans should be excited to have a Herro!