Miami Heat guard Tyler Herro has been telling people that he expects to be traded away from the team, according to Five Reasons Sports’ Ethan J. Skolnick.
Skolnick explained on the “Five on the Floor” podcast that Herro expects to be moved in a potential trade for Damian Lillard. According to Skolnick’s intel, the deal is expected to be a three-team transaction that could feature the Brooklyn Nets.
“Tyler Herro believes he’s going to get traded… that’s what he’s been telling people, he’s expecting to be traded… everything seems to be leaning towards the Nets more as a legitimate possibility right now.” – @EthanJSkolnick on the latest @5ReasonsSports/@5OTF_ pic.twitter.com/x4tCjC9X5r
— Naveen Ganglani (@naveenganglani) July 3, 2023
“Tyler Herro believes he’s going to get traded,” Skolnick said. “I can say that, okay, that that’s what he’s been telling people. He’s expecting to be traded.
“We don’t expect it to be a two-team trade if it ends up happening. There’s going to be a third team involved. We thought it would be the [San Antonio] Spurs. Everything seems to be leaning towards the Nets more as a more legitimate possibility right now.
“They did sign Lonnie Walker, but I heard that that won’t preclude them from doing anything as far as going for Herro.”
Lillard has made it clear that he wants to land with the Heat, which should help the team acquire the seven-time All-Star from the Portland Trail Blazers this offseason.
Herro, 23, was the No. 13 overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft by Miami. He has become one of the team’s best players over the last few seasons, but the Heat may need to move him to complete any deal for Lillard.
The youngster is one of Miami’s best trade assets, and Portland isn’t going to want to part ways with Lillard unless it can get a good return.
If Herro were to head to Brooklyn in a hypothetical three-team deal, it’s likely that the Nets would send something of value to the rebuilding Blazers. Portland has a solid young core with No. 3 overall pick Scoot Henderson, Anfernee Simons and Shaedon Sharpe.
During the 2022-23 regular season, Herro averaged 20.1 points, 5.4 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game while shooting 43.9 percent from the field and 37.8 percent from beyond the arc.
However, he only appeared in one playoff game before suffering an injury and missing the rest of Miami’s run to the NBA Finals.
A former Sixth Man of the Year, Herro has been arguably the No. 2 scoring option for the Heat behind Jimmy Butler in recent seasons.
There’s no doubt that adding an All-Star caliber player like Lillard would boost Miami’s chances of winning the NBA Finals, but losing a homegrown player like Herro would hurt as well.
It will be interesting to see how the Lillard trade talks progress as the offseason goes on.
