MIAMI — Pat Riley spent a significant percentage of his media session Tuesday at Kaseya Center discussing the value of Tyler Herro.

The question was whether he was selling the value of what comes next for the fourth-year guard with the Miami Heat … or the value of Herro on the trade market.

“Tyler is just an extraordinary scorer and fourth-quarter player, big-time shot-maker,” Riley said. “He’s 23 years old. You got to watch with these guys.”

The Heat’s president then went on to discuss the hand injury sustained in the playoff opener that sidelined Herro for the balance of the postseason.

“We missed him,” Riley said. “We missed him. People don’t understand just how lethal he is in those moments. He gets bigger in the biggest of moments. He just does. You’ve seen it time and again.”

Riley went on to label Herro as franchise “anchor” in the same breath while also discussing Bam Adebayo.

Herro is considered the lynchpin to any significant Heat offseason move, including a potential play for Damian Lillard, should the Portland Trail Blazers guard come on the market.

Butler’s team

Even if the Heat maneuver for a star, through additional spending or otherwise, Riley said it would not change the reality of Jimmy Butler as leading man.

“Right now,” Riley said, “it’s on his shoulders. That happens with a lot of great players. I would love to be able to go out there and pick who I want as a perfect complement to him. It’s not that easy, but we will work toward that and I will pat him on the back the next time I see him.”

Riley also downplayed diminishing returns from Butler in the latter stages of the playoffs, including the NBA Finals the Heat lost 4-1 to the Denver Nuggets.

“I don’t think anybody game planned Jimmy the way that Denver did,” Riley said. “But also over the course of nine weeks and 25 games as teams are scouting for the next round, they see what you do and they know who to sell out on and they know who to really cover. So Jimmy, they made it very difficult for him.”

Draft next

Riley hinted at the team’s direction at No. 18 in Thursday’s NBA draft, while also indicating overall upgrade desires.

“I’ve always been a talent-first guy,” he said. “So the draft will either be best player available or positional need. There are a lot of good players there.

“So probably I would say more overall wing size and length. I mean, that’s what I think everybody is looking for and multiple-position players, especially ball-handling players that are two-way kinds of players.”

Haslem moment

Riley took time at the end of his session to address the retirement of 43-year-old team captain Udonis Haslem, indicating a position for life being available with the team, similar to Alonzo Mourning’s role.

“I texted him the other day,” Riley said. “I didn’t bring him in for an exit meeting; I’ve had enough of those. He’s special to this organization, as is Zo, as are a lot of players who played for us.

“There’s not much more to say about Udonis. I said to him, ‘Chill out, go spend time with your family and your friends and some day we’ll talk in the future about things.’ ”

Also . . .

Of Erik Spoelstra, Riley said, “We have who I think is the best coach in the league.”  …

Of the current rumor mill, he laughed and told the assembled media, “I’m learning more about things about this league from you, than I ever have learned in my life.” …

Of not making a trade at the February trade deadline, Riley instead pointed to the buyout-deadline addition of Kevin Love. “K-Love especially changed the dynamic of our team,” he said. “Sometimes it doesn’t have to be a huge trade.” …

Of the loss to the Nuggets and series-MVP Nikola Jokic in the Finals, Riley said, “I don’t think there’s anybody in the league who individually can play Jokic. He’s an incredible force.”