After months of back-and-forth between the Portland Trail Blazers and Miami Heat concerning a trade for superstar guard Damian Lillard, the Blazers surprisingly dealt the former Weber State standout to the Milwaukee Bucks.
The unexpected move sent shock waves through the league and also threw a monkey wrench into the Heat’s plans to add a third star alongside Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo.
The trade centered on Lillard and the Heat’s best asset, sharp-shooting guard Tyler Herro. But the Blazers didn’t want him, as they already have guys like Shaeden Sharpe and Anfernee Simons manning the shooting guard position.
If any trade was to include Herro, the Blazers also wanted more in return than the original offer of Herro, some form of players, and picks in exchange for Lillard.
That’s something Heat president Pat Riley wasn’t willing to do. So, after months of having his name tied up in trade talks, Herro is still with the team that drafted him and expected to play a vital role as he did last year before breaking his hand in the playoffs.
Herro Happy To Stay In Miami, But Is He Upset With Wrong Team?
With the trade for Lillard now complete, Herro can get back to focusing on basketball. In an interview with South Florida Sun Sentinel, the former Kentucky star had this to say about the whole ordeal:
“I didn’t want to go to Portland, so I’m glad Portland didn’t want me. I just don’t want to be in Portland. So it’s not personal with Portland, at all.”
Herro says it’s not personal with Portland, but saying he’s happy he isn’t there sounds a bit personal. Maybe Herro should hold a bit of a grudge toward the Heat for keeping him in trade rumors the entire offseason.
Now he’s expected to shake that off and be a valuable offensive weapon for them. It’s a business, for sure, but that can never be easy, and Herro isn’t just a role player, he was the team’s third-leading scorer last season at just over 20 points per game.
Heat Better Without Herro?
The Heat’s surprising run to the NBA Finals was in direct correlation with Herro being injured in Game 1 of the first-round of the playoffs.
During that run, Miami beat the No. 1-seeded Bucks, No. 5-seeded Knicks and No. 2-seeded Celtics before succumbing to the eventual NBA champion Denver Nuggets. The improbable run had some pundits saying the team may be better without Herro, and that’s just not true. In fact, the Finals loss still likely would’ve happened even if Herro plays, but his offensive capabilities could’ve helped immensely.
Herro himself also doesn’t believe that, and he mentioned it in his interview.
“And our team didn’t get better without me, we just started shooting better and making shots,” Herro said. “We didn’t make shots all year. And I’m the best shooter on the team. So, I don’t think me sitting out affected our shooting percentage. I just think we started making shots.”
This is a very pivotal season for Herro.
