(Photo by Megan Briggs/Getty Images)
Over the summer, the one player who had no idea what the future held for him in the NBA was Tyler Herro of the Miami Heat, who was constantly mentioned as trade bait in order for the team to acquire superstar guard Damian Lillard.
Obviously, in the end, the Heat were unable to make a deal with the Portland Trail Blazers, who went and made a three-team deal with the Milwaukee Bucks and Phoenix Suns instead.
This was likely a relief for Herro, who never wanted to leave South Beach in the first place.
Many have speculated that one of the main reasons Lillard never made it to Miami was because the Blazers didn’t have any interest in acquiring Herro.
According to Heat team president Pat Riley, the Heat never intended to trade Herro this summer, according to the Associated Press via NBACentral.
“We have never shopped him and had no interest in ever trading the guy.”
– Pat Riley on Tyler Herro
(Via @AP) pic.twitter.com/4gbiRg6t61
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) October 23, 2023
In retrospect, it is easy to make a statement like this because Riley wants to make Herro feel comfortable and happy in Miami, even though he was trade bait for months during the offseason.
Whether Riley is telling the truth about not shopping Herro this summer really doesn’t matter, as the two sides have to work together moving forward regardless, unless he gets dealt somewhere else out of nowhere.
Despite being unable to make any substantial moves during the NBA offseason, the Heat are still a force to be reckoned with in the Eastern Conference, with Herro potentially having a chip on his shoulder and ready to prove his worth to the rest of the league.
The post Pat Riley Makes Clear Statement On Heat’s Tyler Herro Plans appeared first on The Cold Wire.