Damian Lillard spent the summer trying to get traded, but Heat guard Tyler Herro, who likely would have been part of any deal that brought Lillard to Miami, was happy to stay where he is, writes Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel.
Trail Blazers general manager Joe Cronin reportedly didn’t want Herro, which made it difficult for the teams to reach a deal without a third franchise involved. Although Herro doesn’t hold any resentment toward Cronin for his decision, he’s happy with the way things worked out.
“I didn’t want to go to Portland, so I’m glad Portland didn’t want me,” Herro said. “I just don’t want to be in Portland. So it’s not personal with Portland, at all. I’m just happy to be on the court. I haven’t played since April. I broke my hand and I haven’t played since then, so I’m ready to play.”
Teammates have been raving about Herro’s performance in camp as he returned from the injury that forced him to miss virtually all of last season’s playoffs. Herro doesn’t believe the perception of his importance to the Heat should change because the team reached the NBA Finals without him.
“I got hurt and obviously we went on a run,” he said. “So I don’t know if that changed people’s perspectives on the way that I play or my value. Nothing has changed. I haven’t gotten any worse. I’ve only gotten better, older, more experienced. And our team didn’t get better without me, we just started shooting better and making shots. We didn’t make shots all year. And I’m the best shooter on the team. So I don’t think with me sitting out affected our shooting percentage. I just think we started making shots.”
There’s more from Miami:
- Lillard discussed his request to be dealt to the Heat during a weekend interview with Sirius XM NBA Radio (Twitter link). “I don’t think it was a secret that Miami is where I wanted to go when I asked for a trade,” he said. “When this conversation started, it was like ‘We’re not going to be able to build this team out. We’ll help you get to where you want to go.’ And that was where I wanted to go.”
- Josh Richardson appears to be the backup point guard heading into the preseason opener, Winderman states in a mailbag column. In response to a reader’s question about signing Goran Dragic, Winderman said he doubts that the team would want two 37-year-old point guards on the roster, but he adds that the organization’s view of Dragic might change if Kyle Lowry gets traded. Winderman also mentions John Wall if the Heat are in the market for veteran help.
- Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald takes at closer look at the Exhibit 10 players competing for a roster spot: Justin Champagnie, Cheick Diallo, Drew Peterson, Cole Swider and Alondes Williams.
Herro will be better than Lillard this year
how much you want to bet?
Lil Dingaling? Is that you?
Why mad? I just called you out and you know I am correct it was a dumb statement by you. So you refuse to make a bet on who will be better.
Why mad? Huh? What you talking about? Did you call me out? Or did I call you out? Why you afraid to answer the question? Is it cause you still owe me from last year’s bet?
That’s about the equivalent of saying Hank Bauer will have a better season than Mickey Mantle in 1956. Your vast lack of common sense makes you a source for moronic humor, K-Blow.
Haha this the same nonsense y’all said last year when I said MIA going to the ECF, then y’all disappeared and changed your screen names. Let’s see if this year you got the pair to stock around a face your ineptitudes. Hahahaha #wheresmymoney?
Why would there be resentment to Portland? He doesn’t play for them and has nothing to do with them. Miami is the team that was trying to trade him to anyone and couldnt find a taker. With Portland trading Lillard they were going into rebuild and all the main pieces that they are rebuilding around are guards make Herro redundant and making $120m over 4 years coming off the bench. Thats not what rebuilding teams trade for.
Its one of those questions a reporter ask to let the player praise the team he is playing for. He should be mad at their GM for wanting to trade him and letting everyone know he was offered.
Kendrick Nunn was terrific for Miami a couple of years ago. Clearly, he has done something to upset management. He is sitting by the phone waiting for ANY NBA team to call and offer a veteran minimum deal. Has a European offer that he has on hold waiting if an NBA team will call. Miami don’t appear to have an interest in bringing him back.
Jabari Parker is already signed overseas. Kendrick will likely follow. That leaves Derrick Rose and Talen Horton-Tucker as the last two Chicago Simeon High School products still in the NBA.
Honestly nunn has only ever really been league average at best. There’s not much room in the nba for a 6’3 off ball guy that isn’t an elite shooter or defender. He’s a g league/d1 level player that is the 10-15th guy on a bench. Probably just wants more money than hes worth or hes a cancer.
Jabari is just dumb as they come and had some pretty brutal injuries. He’s straight cooked unfortunately.
Nunn is a scoring guard in a league where it’s extremely difficult for guards to stay in. He and Herro have a lot of redundancy. If there were more teams, he would be an example of a guy that would be in the league, but unfortunately, he is an example of the talent level around the world right now, and just how hard it is to get to, and more importantly, stay in the NBA
MIA doesn’t really need to do much from here for me to pencil them in as top 4 in the East. Injuries aside, I do see them clearly behind MIL and BOS, but near the top of the next group.
Lillard or Holiday would have been a big upgrade to an already good team. But they will likely get another bite at that type of apple ahead of the deadline. For now, I think they could use a 2 way guy PG who can (nominally) start ahead of two of Lowry, Herro and JR, to keep the latter in similar roles to last year. It’s not an absolute need, and would be more about the regular season (keeping guys from being overworked) than upgrading their finishing group. They have a superstar (Butler) that they are still likely to run the offense through when it matters, and proven facilitators around him.
They have multiple 2 way guards, besides Herro, so they’re good in that area. Biggest need is/has been smallball 5/at the 4. That’s how they lost in the finals too. They couldn’t do anything against Aaron Gordon
What 2 way guards do they have outside of the three guys I mentioned (Lowry, Herro and JR)? Ideally, I wouldn’t want to start Lowry at all, or start either of the other two at PG. Maybe you’re good with that.
Certainly, I think they could use more size, as in a real 30 mpg 4 man. That’s the guy they didn’t have that made Gordon difficult to deal with. But they aren’t going to find him before the season starts.
Lowry, Richardson, Dru Smith, Jimmy, Caleb all play/can play at guard and are 2 way players, though I will concede in non Lowry minutes, guarding quicker smaller guards could be an issue, which is one area where they miss Vincent, but they make up for that with the addition of Richardson in other areas they were previously lacking
At the 4, they have several potential options now, including their rookie, but it depends on if they’re willing to give those guys that opportunity. I certainly don’t want to see more Kevin Love at the 4 instead of as a backup spacing 5
MIA won’t get past the 2nd round and will be lucky to get there.
Thank you! People who make these comments always regret it later.
I just don’t think they are going to get it done this year. No hate.
They were a fun team to watch last year, but I just think the rest of the conference will take a step up while this team stays in place. But they were 8th seed, with a miracle run… staying in place will be a big fall from the Finals.
Everything you’re saying is the same thing everyone has said about the Heat for few years now, yet they are the only team to reach the Finals twice in the last four years.
Sure their regular season wasn’t great but they were one of the most injured teams. Out of any playoff team they had at least two starters injured more than any other team
Heat played better without Herro b/c he should have never been starting last year, and it took away a guy that needed the ball in his hands. They also finally let certain people play that should have been the entire time, like Duncan Robinson and Highsmith
I would hope to keep everyone besides Diallo, Alondes Williams, and Hampton. Really want to keep Dru Smith and Champagnie specifically, so if they need to leave the 1 spot open, it’s between who they think they can get away with hiding with the skyforce between Peterson and Swider. Really like Peterson as a potential Strus replacement once they get his body right, so I wouldn’t want to lose him, and he is a significantly better defender than Swider, and can play multiple positions
Richardson makes Herro as a starter actually work
Start Herro, Richardson, Duncan, Jimmy, Bam
Or Herro, Richardson, Jimmy, Highsmith/Cain/one of the spacers/Jacquez/Jovic, Bam
Kyle also makes sense in certain lineups, but then, I wouldn’t start Herro, as I wouldn’t have last year, and you could do the lineup I would have gone with last year, being Lowry, Duncan, Jimmy, Highsmith, Bam…
Richardson, obviously can play 1-3, and Dru Smtih can also play those positions. They also could use more lineups with Jimmy at the 1 theoretically, as they did a couple of times in the playoffs. Caleb can also be used at the 3/2/4, so that is obviously useful for versatility, and then hopefully they figure out what they want to do at the 4 primarily, and smallball 5, which was a significant issue last year, and most of the last few years. They have a few options there now, though it depends on how they view their young guys
Sheesh, the Heat continue to be a small team. Personally, I feel that a little more size is the one thing that’s keeping them from a championship instead of being short (no pun intended here) the last few years.
I sure hope they can find a big guy as one of their latest diamonds in the rough they always seem to discover and develop.
I don’t get the issue with the size. The only issue, again, is at the smallball 5/at the 4. Remember when a few months ago, the Heat were in the finals? They have enough size across the board except at the positions I’m talking about, and they have potentially addressed that, depending on who they keep, and who they give that opportunity to (possibly Jacquez, Jovic, or Champagnie at least as a 4, with Kevin Love as the floor spacing 5 next to him)
I liked Darius Days last year for that smallball 5 spot, but they let him go for some reason
Would Hassan Whiteside help
If he decided to try? Still no