"Until next summer": Tyler Herro scoffs at botched move to Portland as Heat fail to land Damian Lillard
Tyler Herro found himself at the center of a number of trade rumors this offseason. With reports continuing to emerge that Damian Lillard was only interested in landing with the Miami Heat, the speculation was that Herro would have to be included in a potential trade. Of course, at the time, indications were that the Miami Heat weren't interested in sending all of their available assets.
As such, a deal between the Heat and the Blazers never came to fruition, with the Milwaukee Bucks landing Damian Lillard as part of a massive multi-team trade. With the trade talk now behind the Heat, Tyler Herro took to Twitter to give his thoughts on the situation.
From the sounds of things, Herro is ready to wrap up the offseason trade talk for the year and put his focus on the upcoming 2023-24 NBA season. After breaking his hand early in the playoffs last season, Tyler Herro's focus will now be on making a triumphant return to the court.
As he teased on Twitter, however, it seems he's expecting to be right back in the same position next offseason:
"Until next summer.."
That wasn't all, however, as Herro posted another Tweet:
"In all seriousness… as a kid from Milwaukee, I’m grabbing me a Dame jersey."
Looking at the Tyler Herro trade package offered by the Heat, compared to the deal the Trail Blazers accepted
The offseason standoff between the Miami Heat and the Portland Trail Blazers came as the result of the Heat's unwillingness to meet the Blazers' request. When negotiations began, the expectation was that the Heat would have to include Herro in order to make the trade work.
In addition, the franchise had a number of other assets the Blazers were also interested in. According to reports, Tyler Herro, Duncan Robinson, Nikola Jovic, and Gabe Vincent were all players on the table, as well as several draft picks.
When push came to shove, however, Pat Riley and the Miami Heat weren't interested in sacrificing depth. As a result, the Portland Trail Blazers shipped Lillard to Milwaukee, while also sending veteran big man Jusuf Nurkic to the Phoenix Suns in exchange for Deandre Ayton.
Now, Lillard will compete against Tyler Herro, Jimmy Butler, and the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference rather than alongside them. While it's entirely possible that Lillard still lands with the Heat via trade down the line, it seems that his immediate future is in Milwaukee.