As the trade discussions between the Heat and Trail Blazers for Damian Lillard linger, one name mentioned nearly as often as the 33-year-old point guard is the primary option expected to be moved by Miami—shooting guard Tyler Herro.
The problem, though, is that Portland reportedly isn’t interested in Herro, the NBA’s 2021-22 Sixth Man of the Year.
Although there has been chatter that a few other teams around the league could be willing to give up a first-round pick for Herro in a three-team trade, the overall interest in the 23-year-old guard apparently has been relatively low. While discussing the swirling trade situation and Herro specifically, Heat beat writer Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel unloaded on the way Herro has been treated during the Lillard saga.
No one involved in the Lillard trade speculation has been treated as unjustly and unfairly as Tyler Herro, who seemingly has been dismissed as unworthy of even being mentioned in the same sentence as Lillard.
At 23, with his prime still ahead, the Heat guard already has had a playoff dynamic run to the 2020 NBA Finals, been named the NBA’s 2022 Sixth Man of the Year and averaged more than 20 points each of the past two seasons.
The argument in favor of Herro is a strong one, as the 23-year-old guard had improved statistically each season prior to the hand injury that sidelined him down the final stretch of the 2022-23 regular season and the entire playoffs.
Winderman also revealed that although there’s a “perception” the Heat has approached Herro “as if expendable,” that apparently isn’t the case at all. Per Winderman, Miami only has offered Herro in trades for two players—Lillard and Kevin Durant.
As for the perception of being dangled by the Heat as if expendable, Herro only has been offered, actually offered, for only two players since being drafted out of Kentucky in 2019: Kevin Durant and Lillard. As in two of the best players in the game today and two of the top 75 of all-time.
While the report shines a positive light on the Heat and how they value Herro internally, that’s pretty telling if the franchise only has included Herro in packages for two legitimate superstars.
At the very least, there’s a strong argument to be made that Herro shouldn’t be considered as a player that a team “has to take on” in a trade or “gets included” in a deal. Realistically, if it weren’t for the Blazers’ already having so many young guards, Herro could be a strong trade centerpiece. Unfortunately for the Heat, that’s not the case here.
