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Tyler Herro #14 of the Miami Heat
For the last two games, the Miami Heat have had Tyler Herro back on the floor, which has been a surprisingly happy turn of events. Herro has not played much this year, going from an ankle and foot injury before the season that caused him to miss the first 17 games to a toe injury to a rib injury. In all, Herro has 13 games on the ledger this season, and his onslaught of injuries has left the Heat in a bit of a bind.
Miami can’t trade Herro, despite the fact that the team was very open to it ahead of this year’s deadline. There were talks around Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo, of course, but the fact is that the Heat would have engaged with any team that showed an interest in dealing for Herro. But that’s not happened.
Herro played 77 games last year, but that’s the only time in his career he has not missed at least 15 games.
Miami Heat Have $33 Million Going to Tyler Herro Next Year
If the other 29 teams in the league do not seem to have a use for Herro, then it should be noted that the Miami Heat do not seem to have much use for him anymore, either. Herro could find himself back on the NBA rumor mill this offseason … except that interest has been so low.
He has been coming off the bench since he returned from injury, and he has not complained about the change in role, 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 is great, except that Herro is on the books for $33 million next year, and the Heat have much less expensive pieces that are, simply, better than he is. They’d love to find a taker for Herro in the offseason, but that’s a longshot.
“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 Cavaliers had their winning streak snapped on Sunday, but still, the team has gotten themselves back into the picture among Eastern Conference contenders. Cleveland shocked many observers of the NBA rumor mill by trading for James Harden ahead of the deadline, but that’s not necessarily what’s gotten them back among the East’s top dogs.
“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 Warriors knew well that when they traded for Kristaps Porzingis from the Hawks at the deadline, the goal was to have him healthy for the playoffs, and that might mean him sitting out games in the coming weeks. But they did not expect that Porzingis would need to ask out after just one game with the team.
Porzingis, though, is out with an illness on Sunday. He might not play on the team’s two-game road trip this week. For a team that lost eight of its last 12 games and is struggling to get by without Stephen Curry and Jimmy Butler, this is obviously a bad turn of events. The fear is that, as with Atlanta early this year and Boston last year, Porzingis just won’t be able to stay on the floor when he’s needed.
Sean Deveney is a veteran sports reporter covering the NBA, NFL and MLB for Heavy.com. He has written for Heavy since 2019 and has more than two decades of experience covering the NBA, including 17 years as the lead NBA reporter for the Sporting News. Deveney is the author of 7 nonfiction books, including “Fun City,” “Before Wrigley became Wrigley,” and “Facing Michael Jordan.” More about Sean Deveney
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