One of the biggest stories of the NBA offseason was the Damian Lillard trade saga, and whether he’d be traded to the Miami Heat or not. The superstar guard for the Trail Blazers made it known that there was only one team that he wanted to play for, and negotiations for his services dragged on for months as rumors swirled.
NBA: Tyler Herro Is On His Revenge Tour
Tyler Herro tonight:
30 points
5 assists
6 3PM
52% FG pic.twitter.com/qGf2OUkXgI— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) November 2, 2023
There was plenty of speculation about what was going to happen and which players would be involved, but Heat guard Tyler Herro was almost always a part of the conversation. Miami general manager Pat Riley had limited assets and resources to work with given that he was unwilling to include Jimmy Butler or Bam Adebayo in a potential deal, and one of them was thought to be Herro.
Was the soon-t0-be 5th year player expendable? He averaged 20+ points in each of his previous two seasons, and has been considered one of the better shooters in the NBA during his young career. But the Heat were able to enjoy a good amount of success without him, as they made it all the way to the Finals last year after Herro was injured in Game 1 of the postseason.
The Lillard trade never happened, and Herro remained a member of the Heat. And whether it is a believable statement or not is up for debate, but Riley said that Herro was never made available in any trade talks.
Herro Looks Vastly Improved In Small Sample Size
Tyler Herro is the 4th player in Heat history to score 100 points in the first 4 games of season, joining:
Lebron James
Dwyane Wade (twice)
Alonzo morning14 is off to a hot start this season 🔥 pic.twitter.com/gsWg4C4RFq
— Emo Jimmy (@WheelerJaylen) November 1, 2023
But the player is using the off-season as motivation and fuel for his performance this NBA season. In the weeks leading up to opening night, Herro had more than a handful of quotes to the media about how locked in he was for the upcoming campaign, including one about being such a good player that the Heat eventually make him untouchable in future trade talks. The chip on his shoulder was there, and he wasn’t shy about pointing it out to the fans and media.
He’s backed up the talk through the first five games of the season. The sample size is small, but Tyler Herro is averaging 26.2 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 4.2 assists so far this year. His three-point percentage is at 43.2% (38.4% career average), and he takes nearly 6 shots more per game so far than he did in 2022-23. His 26.2 points are a full 10 better than what Butler is averaging so far this year.
The Heat themselves have struggled out of the gate. The team is off to a 1-4 start, a tough way to begin defending an Eastern Conference title from a year ago.
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