Tyler Herro said he wants to move past his physical altercation with former teammate Bam Adebayo, telling ESPN he is focused on moving forward with the Milwaukee Bucks. The incident occurred last week in Las Vegas.
“Honestly, I’m just trying to move past all of it,” said Herro. “I’m focused on Milwaukee and building something special. They obviously just traded the greatest player in their history, so we want to come in and help continue what they’ve been doing.”
Herro added that Milwaukee, his hometown team, represents the one destination he would have welcomed outside of Miami.
“I’m ready to come home and not prove everyone wrong, but just be able to represent the city and the state because I wanted to do that coming out of school as well,” said Herro.
ESPN’s Shams Charania first reported that Herro and Adebayo were involved in a physical altercation at the Resorts World Hotel in Las Vegas on July 10. The incident began after Adebayo approached Herro around 9 a.m. local time, following a Heat training session held on the same court where Herro had worked out earlier that morning with his AAU team.
Sources with knowledge of the encounter said Adebayo confronted Herro over social media comments he had made critiquing the center following the end of their seven-year run as teammates in Miami. Herro responded in a way that Adebayo took exception to, and the confrontation turned physical.
Sources told ESPN that Adebayo struck Herro near the chin, though the exact nature of the contact remains disputed. Herro was not knocked to the ground and was restrained by others in the gym before any further physical response occurred.
The dispute stemmed partly from comments attributed to a social media account associated with Herro questioning whether Adebayo’s $60 million salary was justified and suggesting Herro himself needed more support from his supporting cast while dealing with injuries. Adebayo had made similar comments earlier this season about needing more help from his own teammates following Miami’s play-in elimination.
Heat sources said the relationship between Adebayo and Herro had grown strained over the past year as Herro appeared in just 33 games due to injury and adjusted to changes in Miami’s offensive system. Adebayo had previously suggested publicly that Herro needed to adapt to the new scheme.
“It’s all love in Miami,” said Herro, when asked about seeing his former team. “I’ve seen a couple of the guys, coaching staff, Chris Quinn, Spo [Erik Spoelstra], the front office guys; we are all good in Miami. Just an opportunity for both sides to reset, get a fresh start, and both are super happy with this.”