Miami Heat’s Tyler Herro addresses trade rumors
MIAMI — It was as if Monday was a confirmation of what did not happen for the Miami Heat this offseason — Tyler Herro was present at media day at Kaseya Center, in his No. 14 uniform, still a member of the franchise that drafted him out of Kentucky in 2019.
That he made it to this starting line, which actually also stands as an offseason finish line, presented the NBA’s 2022 Sixth Man of the Year with a degree of closure.
“This one,” he said with a smile, during a private moment in a hallway, “felt a little more real than any of the other trade rumors in the past.”
This time it was real, his name linked for months to a potential Heat trade for Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard.
“Honestly, at one point it was super loud,” he said. “But everything that was being said was not true, because my agent and everyone else knew what was going on. And what I heard wasn’t what was going on. The media controls a lot of the narrative, especially with the trade rumors, because there are so many different sources. But at the end of the day, you don’t know.
“Nobody expected Dame to go to Milwaukee; it kind of just happened. Anytime a player of Dame’s caliber is available, if I was a GM, I’d be going after Dame, too. So at the end of the day it’s a business and you want to do what’s best to make your organization in the best position to win a championship.”
At no point were there denials from the Heat, with Lillard last week instead dealt to the Milwaukee Bucks.
“I’m ready in my career to play wherever I’m wanted, whether that’s here or somewhere else,” said Herro, who this season begins a four-year, $120 million extension from his rookie contract. “I don’t care. I just want to play where I’m wanted, and I want to be wanted. I don’t think I’m not wanted here. I think there’s a great player that was on the market at the time, so whatever happened, happened. And now, in this situation, I’m excited to be back and ready to play, that’s if I play here or somewhere else.”
A year ago, Herro was linked to a potential deal for Kevin Durant.
“Dame and KD are two of the top players of their generation, of this time,” he said. “But like I said, I’d just like some clarity.
“There was a little bit of frustration, but at the end of the day, like I said, it’s a business. I understand that. I would just like some clarity. I feel like I’ve gained enough respect around here to know what’s going on a little bit, whether my name’s involved or not. So that’s really it. I want to be involved. I feel I’ve earned the respect, I’ve put the work in.”
With an unkempt and unexpected tuft of hair rising from his scalp, Herro was in a lighter mood than might have been anticipated.
At the start of the offseason, he had scrubbed mentions of the Heat from his social media.
“I removed that about a month before anyone picked up on it,” he said. “So that was funny to me. I did that like at the end of the season. So that had nothing to do with the trade rumor or anything like that. Social media is funny.”
More recently, he worked out ahead of camp at Westminster Christian in Palmetto Bay, rather than a few miles up the road at Kaseya Center with the rest of the Heat’s players.
That, too, raised eyebrows.
“I was getting my work in, as I always do,” he said. “But I’m up at 4 a.m., so I didn’t want to drive here. I live in Pinecrest, so I’d rather not drive 45 minutes to come here. Westminster is about four minutes from my house.”
Monday, though, Herro was back with teammates, teammates who appreciated the 23-year-old’s whirlwind.
“Obviously you have the good and the bad of all that can happen, can possibly happen,” center Bam Adebayo said, “but you also have to have the thought of if doesn’t happen, what does this team look like and how can we move forward?”
For Adebayo, it was a case of dual realities, with Lillard having pushed for a trade to the Heat because of his friendship with Adebayo.
“We talked about it,” Adebayo said of conversations with Lillard. “Obviously he had a different destination in mind.”
As for Herro, he’s braced for whatever might come next.
And if there are rumors again next summer?
He smiled and mentioned being prepared to be linked to yet another NBA elite on the 2025 trade market.
“Giannis,” he said with a laugh, “would be good.”
And with that, ready to roll with whatever comes next, including following up on his social-media vow to get a Lillard Bucks jersey.
“I’m gonna get it,” he said. “I’m gonna get it for free though.”
