MIAMI — Before looking ahead to what will be a summer of significant decisions for the Miami Heat, coach Erik Spoelstra paused Wednesday to reflect on one particular moment at the end of his team’s run to within three victories of an NBA championship.
Two days after his team’s season came to an end in Game 5 of the NBA Finals in Denver, Spoelstra expanded on the difficulty of his decision to hold out guard Tyler Herro on the night Herro was cleared to return two months after breaking his right hand in the team’s April 16 playoff opener.
“There’s no perfect answer to that,” Spoelstra said of the situation that left Herro disappointed, with Herro declining comment both after Monday night’s loss at Ball Arena and then declining to meet with the media Wednesday as the team emptied lockers one final time. “But certainly, yes, I do have empathy for Tyler. He’s a competitor, so I know how he felt after the game.
“He’s like all of our guys in our locker room. They want to contribute. They wanted to do whatever they had to do to try to help the team win. And he is a great competitor. I did not have to ask him how he felt after the game. That’s what makes him who he is, and that’s the part I love about him.”
Spoelstra said the effort Herro made to try to return was appreciated and admired.
“It’s also my job, as the head coach, to protect him, and do what we think was best for the team,” Spoelstra said. “And if he were to play, I wanted to also make sure that he would have been his best version to be able to help the team. And there’s no knowing for sure, but I do know that that was just a totally unusual circumstance that you can’t compare to anything else.
“But the good news is he’ll have a great offseason and he’ll be fully ready to go next year.”
In addition to Herro, Jimmy Butler, Kyle Lowry, Caleb Martin, Kevin Love and Cody Zeller were among those who bypassed the team’s final media session.
Among those who addressed the media were impending free agents Max Strus, Gabe Vincent and Omer Yurtseven.
Strus was emotional in discussing the Heat resurrecting his career after previous tryouts with the Boston Celtics and Chicago Bulls.
“It doesn’t really feel like it’s over yet,” Strus said. “It hasn’t kicked in yet. So I’m just grateful for being part of this team and this run that we had. But as far as what’s next, I don’t know.”
He pointedly thanked Spoelstra, Heat president Pat Riley and general manager Andy Elisburg.
“I’ve had an unbelievable time here,” he said. “I did what I came here to do for myself. They’ve given me an opportunity and I took advantage of it. I will forever be thankful for Coach Riley, Coach Spo, Andy for keeping me around and giving me that opportunity to take that step in my career. This place will always have a special place in my heart.
“Obviously money is a thing. I mean, that’s for anybody. These are moments you work for, the opportunities that could be life changing. So you can’t ever take that out of it. But I love playing basketball, and that’s always going to be the first thing for me, playing basketball the right way, being comfortable in a place to do that, and making sure I’m compatible with what that organization is about and what they do. I haven’t had a better fit than being in Miami. It’s what I know. It’s what I’m comfortable with.”
Vincent also addressed his decision ahead.
“I think there’s a lot of factors that come into play, for obvious reasons,” he said of his decision-making process. “Just the right situation. I think obviously money plays a role, place plays a role, the situation I’ll be playing plays a role. There’s a lot of things that factor out.”
While Strus and Vincent will be unrestricted free agents, the Heat have the right to make Yurtseven a restricted free agent, and therefore retain the right to match outside offers.
Having been sidelined most of the season with an ankle injury but then bypassed in the rotation when he returned, Yurtseven spoke of playing time as a priority.
“I think my priority is to play,” Yurtseven said, “because that’s the way to get better and enrich the potential of a team.”
The Heat’s two two-way players, forward Jamal Cain and center Orlando Robinson, who both also will be free agents, both said Wednesday they plan to play in summer league with the team. Rookie big man Nikola Jovic also said he plans to participate in summer league, and then possibly play for Serbia’s national team in the World Cup at the end of the summer.
In addition, forward Haywood Highsmith said he expects the team to pick up the final, non-guaranteed season on his contract by that July 15 deadline, with a goal of further developing into a defensive stopper.
