The Miami Heat have had Tyler Herro back on the floor for the last two games — a surprisingly positive development. Herro has barely played this season: he missed the first 17 games due to preseason ankle/foot surgery, then dealt with a toe injury, followed by fractured ribs. In total, he has only appeared in 13 games this year, leaving the Heat in a tough spot due to his recurring injuries.
Miami cannot trade Herro right now — even though they were very open to moving him before this year’s trade deadline. There were discussions tied to Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo, and the Heat would have listened to any serious offer for Herro. But nothing materialized.
Last season, Herro played 77 games — the only time in his career he hasn’t missed at least 15 games.
Miami Heat Have $33 Million Committed to Tyler Herro Next Year
If the other 29 NBA teams don’t seem to have much interest in Herro, the Miami Heat themselves don’t appear to have much use for him anymore either. Herro could easily end up back on the NBA rumor mill this offseason… except that interest has been extremely low.
Since returning from injury, he has come off the bench — and he hasn’t complained about the role change at all, saying: “I’m coming off the bench right now and it doesn’t really feel like I’m out of place because we got guys that can start and I’m comfortable in my role and in myself.”
That’s a great attitude — except Herro is owed $33 million next year, and the Heat have cheaper, and frankly better, options available. They would love to find a taker for Herro this offseason, but that looks like a long shot.
“They can’t admit it but the frustration level with Herro is off the charts there,” one assistant coach said recently. “They can’t get rid of him, there is really no market for him out there. But what’s the use of a guy who shows up ready to play like 20% of the time? And they have young players who can replace him pretty easy.”
NBA Rumors: Cavaliers Slow It Down
The Cleveland Cavaliers had their winning streak snapped on Sunday, but they’ve still climbed back into serious Eastern Conference contender status. Cleveland shocked many by trading for James Harden before the deadline — but that isn’t necessarily what’s fueled their resurgence.
“They’ve stopped trying to play hurry-up,” one Eastern Conference scout said. “They were pushing the pace as much as anybody in the first couple of months but now, they’re slowing things down, I think you see them allowing their defenders to do their work more, allowing themselves to work their offense more. Harden will help with that but they had been slowing down even before he came.”
NBA Rumors: Kristaps Concerns Already
The Golden State Warriors knew when they traded for Kristaps Porziņģis from the Atlanta Hawks at the deadline that the goal was to have him healthy for the playoffs — which might mean sitting him out some games in the coming weeks. What they didn’t expect was Porziņģis asking out after just one game with the team.
Porziņģis is currently out with an illness on Sunday. He might miss the team’s two-game road trip this week. For a Warriors squad that has lost eight of its last 12 games and is already struggling without Stephen Curry and Jimmy Butler, this is obviously a bad development. The fear — as seen in Atlanta earlier this year and Boston last year — is that Porziņģis simply won’t be able to stay healthy when it matters most.