Former All-Star Tyler Herro is reportedly “thrilled” to play for the Milwaukee Bucks after landing with his hometown franchise as part of the blockbuster Giannis Antetokounmpo trade to the Miami Heat.
Herro, who was born in Milwaukee and played high school ball at Whitnall High School, originally committed to play at the University of Wisconsin before switching to Kentucky, where he spent one season before being drafted by the Heat in 2019.
“Sources: Tyler Herro is thrilled about a fresh start and playing for his hometown team the Milwaukee Bucks,” insider Chris Haynes reported on Monday. “Herro always envisioned returning home at some point during his NBA career.”
Will Bucks Keep Tyler Herro?
There have been a lot of rumblings about the Bucks possibly rerouting Tyler Herro to another team, given that he’s on an expiring $33M salary entering the 2026-27 season. Unless the Bucks view Herro as a key part of their future, there’s a good chance they will trade the sharpshooting guard, per multiple insiders.
Per The Athletic’s Eric Nehm and Sam Amick, the Bucks are still undecided on what they plan to do with Herro.
“…League sources say there is strong interest in Herro, and the Bucks will consider sending him elsewhere. The Bucks, per a team source, are also considering keeping Herro (he has one season left on his $33 million deal).”
Bucks Begin Rebuild Process
Regardless of what they do with Herro, the Heat may be nicely set up for the future with young pieces like Kel’el Ware, Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Kasparas Jakucionis, not to mention the No. 10 and No. 13 (via Heat) picks in Tuesday’s NBA Draft. With Ryan Rollins to boot, the Bucks may just have a nice young core of players to begin the post-Giannis era under Taylor Jenkins, their new head coach.
“At Jenkins’ introductory news conference, Bucks co-owner Jimmy Haslam told reporters the Bucks would look to decide about trading Antetokounmpo before the draft, echoing a sentiment Horst shared in the final week of the season,” wrote The Athletic, explaining why the Bucks are relieved to move on from Antetokounmpo.
“Now, Antetokounmpo has been traded by the only franchise he has ever known. And he will begin the pursuit of a second championship with a different team.”
ESPN graded the Bucks a B+ for their Giannis trade return haul.
“They didn’t extract as large a return as they might have had they dealt Antetokounmpo in an earlier window, when he might have brought back a package with more picks and more valuable present-day players, such as what Brooklyn received from Phoenix for Kevin Durant,” wrote Zach Kram.
“Accounting for that lost time, however, the Bucks just about maximized their value in this trade. Dealing the best player in franchise history is bound to hurt. But they ultimately made out well, given the circumstances, and their long path back to contention might have begun Monday night.”
Tyler Herro’s True Feelings About Bucks, Giannis Trade Revealed