The Miami Heat missed out on the playoffs last season, which meant they were in the lottery for the third time in five years. This time around, they had the No. 13 overall pick, and went with Tyler Herro out of the University of Kentucky. There was plenty of excitement in South Beach about the sharpshooter, and that’s only increased with his impressive play in the preseason.
In his first three games, Herro is averaging 16.3 points per game, and has been on fire from downtown, hitting 53.3 percent of his five 3-point attempts per game. He’s by no means been just a catch-and-shoot guy either, showing off a nice pull-up jumper off the bounce.
With that in mind, it’s worth taking a look at an interesting quote from a rival GM regarding how much the Heat value Herro. Per a report from Sean Deveney, he’s “untouchable.” Via Heavy.com:
“They’ve been firm on him and (Bam) Adebayo being untouchable,” one GM told Heavy.com before Herro’s explosive night. “Maybe they would move off of that as the season goes on, but as it stands, they think they’ve got the second coming of Klay Thompson offensively. They have not had a lot of useful guys on rookie contracts in past years and that’s killed their cap. They’ve got two now, they don’t want to let them go.”
This is interesting just on its own merits, but even more so considering all the trade rumors the Heat have been involved in over the summer. After acquiring Jimmy Butler from the Philadelphia 76ers in a sign-and-trade deal involving Josh Richardson a few days into free agency, the Heat have been exploring options to get even better.
One of those targets is Chris Paul, who was himself traded from the Houston Rockets to the Oklahoma City Thunder earlier this summer. He would prefer to be on a more competitive team, and the Thunder would love to be able to flip him for more future assets, but his hefty salary makes putting a deal together quite difficult. While the Heat have the large contracts that could match Paul’s, the Thunder would likely want more than just expiring deals. But with Herro and Bam Adebayo off the table, there isn’t much else that Heat could offer besides draft assets.
Another possible target is Bradley Beal, though he seems less likely to be traded than Paul. If it does reach a point where the Wizards decided to move him, it would be interesting if the Heat budge from their stance of keeping Herro “untouchable.” It’s one thing to be reluctant to move a young, talented shooter for Paul, but it would be another to include him in a deal for Beal.
In any case, it seems the Heat have a bright young talent on their hands, and that’s good news for them as they try to get back into the playoff picture this season, and possibly even make some noise in the East.
