Miami Heat guard Tyler Herro has seen his name in trade rumors for the past few months, as the Heat are interested in acquiring Portland Trail Blazers star point guard Damian Lillard via trade.
So when Herro posted a picture to Instagram depicting him in what appears to be a Heat jersey with the city name cropped out, some Miami fans took this as an indication that Herro’s time with the Heat is coming to an end.
But Herro recently called out Heat fans on Twitter for jumping to conclusions regarding his Instagram post.
Herro, 23, was selected by the Heat with the No. 13 overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft. He has played four years in the NBA, all as a member of the storied Heat franchise. Herro averaged 20.1 points, 5.4 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 0.8 steals and 0.2 blocks per game across 67 appearances with the Heat during the 2022-23 regular season (all starts).
Herro had himself a productive 2022-23 regular season, but his 2023 postseason was cut short. He played in just one playoff game during Miami’s NBA Finals run, and that was Game 1 of the Heat’s first-round series against Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks when he finished with 12 points in 19 minutes of playing time.
During the second quarter of Game 1, Herro dove for a loose ball in the proximity of Bucks guard Grayson Allen and broke his hand. Herro soon after underwent surgery to repair his hand.
The Heat’s NBA Finals run becomes even more impressive when remembering the fact that they were without one of their best scorers for nearly the entirety of the playoffs. If Herro didn’t break his hand in Game 1 of the Bucks series, perhaps Miami’s postseason would have ended differently.
After all, the Heat had a really difficult time scoring the ball against the Nuggets in the NBA Finals. They scored just 94.6 points per game — a far cry from their regular-season average of 109.5 points per game — during the championship series.