TORONTO, ONTARIO - JUNE 10: Kevin Durant #35 of the Golden State Warriors and Pascal Siakam #43 of the Toronto Raptors exchange words in the first half during Game Five of the 2019 NBA Finals at Scotiabank Arena on June 10, 2019 in Toronto, Canada. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images)
It’s been the summer of trade rumors for the Miami Heat. Miami’s front office has been reported to have shown interest in just about every star player who’s become available. First it was Bradley Beal, then for the past month it’s been Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard.
However, Bleacher Report’s Greg Swartz recently wrote up a mock trade that involved the Heat, but sees them target a different star — Toronto Raptors forward Pascal Siakam.
The proposal was written as follows:
Miami Heat Receive: F Pascal Siakam, F Otto Porter Jr.
Toronto Raptors Receive: G Tyler Herro, G Duncan Robinson, F Nikola Jovic, 2024 first-round pick swap, 2028 and 2030 first-round picks.
Oddly enough, this proposal sees Miami offload more than they’ve been rumored to in any trade for Lillard. That’s something that makes sense because of how “frustrating” Raptors GM Masai Ujiri has been reported to deal with.
Does a Pascal Siakam Heat-Raptors Trade Make Sense?
From the perspective of the Heat, it’s tough to imagine trading away Tyler Herro in a deal that doesn’t involve Portland’s superstar guard. Without getting guard help in return, then Miami would be leaving themselves extremely thin in the frontcourt, after losing Gabe Vincent to the Los Angeles Lakers in free agency. They did bring in Josh Richardson, who’s been nothing but solid throughout his time as a pro, but is that enough?
Make no mistake, Siakam is a fine player. He’s been named to a pair of All-NBA teams, making the second-team in 2019-20 and then the third-team last season. In the All-NBA campaign that Siakam just had, he averaged 24.2 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 5.8 assists while shooting 48.0% from the field and 32.4% from beyond the arc.
Porter Jr. would be another quality piece for the Heat. He’s got championship experience, winning the 2022 NBA Championship with the Golden State Warriors. The former Georgetown star could fill meaningful minutes for Miami off the bench.
When taking a look at this proposal from Toronto’s standpoint, it’s not a bad deal — at all. The Raptors are in this weird place where they don’t seem to be sure if they’re trying to rebuild or compete. Siakam is on the final year of his contract and they just lost Fred VanVleet to the Houston Rockets.
Shipping out the Cameroonian in exchange for Miami’s haul of young players and picks isn’t the worst way for the Raptors to kick star a rebuild. Herro could likely form an exciting duo alongside former Rookie of the Year Scottie Barnes. Plus, Toronto could use the draft capital to help build out the rest of the roster down the line.
Tyler Herro Seems Ready to Move on From Heat Amid Trade Rumors
Herro — a key part of Swartz’s proposal — seems all set with the amount of trade rumors he’s been a part of. The 23-year-old guard even took the Heat’s name out of his social media headers, causing speculation that he could be on the move.
Back on July 2, NBA Central shared screenshots of the changes Herro made:
Tyler Herro has removed “Miami Heat guard” from his bio and changed his header
Hours after that was discovered, Ethan J. Skolnick of 5 Reasons Sports reported that the Wisconsin native had an understanding that he’d be traded.
“Tyler Herro believes he’s going to get traded,” he said on the July 2 episode of the “Five on the Floor” podcast. “I can say that that’s what he’s been telling people, he’s expecting to be traded.”