Getty Tyler Herro should return for the Miami Heat in the Finals vs. Denver.
The Miami Heat are heading to the NBA Finals, where the No. 1 team in the Western Conference, the Denver Nuggets, await.
One of the biggest storylines surrounding the Heat throughout the playoffs so far has been how well the team has performed without starting forward Tyler Herro in the lineup.
Herro broke his hand in the first game of the playoffs against the Milwaukee Bucks, and showing plenty of pluck as the East’s eighth seed, the Heat became the first play-in team in history to make it all the way to the Finals. The fact that they made it so far without Herro, who started 67 games for them this past season, has some questioning whether Miami will shop the 23-year-old.
In his May 31 column for Bleacher Report, Zach Buckley named several young players under the age of 25 who “could be traded for a star,” and Herro was one of five players on the list.
Herro Should Have Robust Trade Market
The 13th overall pick for the Heat in 2019, Herro signed a four-year, $120 million contract extension with the team in 2022.
“If Miami is no longer convinced he’s a key part of this core, one would assume it would be eager to get this money off the books. If it is, the trade market should welcome him with open arms,” Buckley wrote about Herro.
There are a lot of “ifs” in those few sentences, but the 23-year-old forward averaged 20.1 points, 5.4 rebounds and 4.2 assists last season (stats via ESPN) and he has showed solid growth as both a shooter and facilitator.
“This may be nowhere near Herro’s peak. He is 23 years old, and this was his first season as a full-time starter. He also splits touches with Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo. Give Herro more time to grow and more on-ball opportunities, and his stat sheet might explode,” Buckley noted, adding some teams may be willing to send a bigger-name player in exchange for the opportunity to see what Herro could grow into.
“Imagining what he could do without them is the kind of thing that could convince a stuck-in-the-middle team to send a star to South Beach and get a chance to build around Herro,” Buckley noted.
Herro Likely to Return in Finals vs Nuggets
Tyler Herro is aiming to return by Game 3, per @ChrisBHaynes
Herro has not yet had a significant opportunity to make his mark during the postseason, but he should get his chance soon.
Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report and TNT reported on Twitter on May 29 that Herro will likely return for Game 3 against Denver. If he plays clutch ball and makes his presence felt, he could squash those trade rumors. But, if that happens, it could also gauge the interest of other teams even more.
“There’s a little soreness in my hand still,” Herro said, as reported by Barry Jackson and Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. “But it’s all just post-surgery scar tissue and stuff like that, that I’m trying to work through right now. I would love to come back for the Finals, but we’ll see how my hand feels. It feels good. I’m feeling good.”
Herro has averaged 17.7 points over his four seasons in the league and he has netted over 20 points a game in each of his last two seasons. He was also named the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year after the 2021-22 season, so Buckley isn’t wrong to suggest Herro could have several suitors.
Herro has been floated as a trade piece in a possible Joel Embiid trade scenario and if the Heat falter in the Finals, any scenario could be possible in an effort to upgrade the roster.
Stay tuned.
Zach Lowe thinks there is an argument to be made that the Heat are playing better without Tyler Herro
“I think Tyler Herro’s injury may have actually helped them because now they play lineups with a maximum of one guy you could really hunt on defense and a minimum of zero… If…
