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Ira Winderman: Tyler Herro deserves better, as does perspective on Heat bid for Lillard

ira winderman, south florida sun-sentinel
·7 min read
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Damian Lillard was out of view at the NBA2K24 Summer League in Las Vegas and yet still the talk of the town over the past week amid his demand to be traded from the Portland Trail Blazers to the Miami Heat.

And there was plenty of talk.

Some coherent and cogent.

Some perplexing and puzzling.

Some fair, some foolish.

A few thoughts on what happened in Vegas as nothing happened with Lillard.

A Herro-ic injustice: No one involved in the Lillard trade speculation has been treated as unjustly and unfairly as Tyler Herro, who seemingly has been dismissed as unworthy of even being mentioned in the same sentence as Lillard.

At 23, with his prime still ahead, the Heat guard already has had a playoff dynamic run to the 2020 NBA Finals, been named the NBA’s 2022 Sixth Man of the Year and averaged more than 20 points each of the past two seasons.

On the cusp of All-Star level, Herro, at worst, is tracking toward a Jamal Crawford or Lou Williams type of career, with his streak scoring compensating for defensive deficiencies.

As for the perception of being dangled by the Heat as if expendable, Herro only has been offered, actually offered, for only two players since being drafted out of Kentucky in 2019: Kevin Durant and Lillard. As in two of the best players in the game today and two of the top 75 of all-time.

Opportunity lost: While Portland Trail Blazers general manager Joe Cronin deserves credit for facing the media at summer league, his insistence on potentially playing the long game until there is an equitable Lillard resolution rings hollow.

Had Cronin acted on Lillard’s impatience at the draft (yes, Lillard’s formal trade demand did not come until days later), he could have worked with the Heat’s No. 18 pick in play.

Instead, if there is a Heat deal, his option from the 2023 draft is taking on Heat selection Jaime Jaquez Jr. instead of a player specifically targeted by Portland. For that matter, had Cronin moved to acquire the Heat’s No. 18 selection last month, he potentially could have packaged No. 18 with the No. 23 the Blazers had acquired from the Knicks, possibly moving into the lottery range.

From there, had Cronin worked toward a Lillard resolution at the July 1 start of free agency, the Blazers potentially could have worked with the Heat’s outgoing money of Victor Oladipo and Max Strus to ease the amount of salary Portland has to take in for Lillard.

The waiting game creates an air of deliberateness. It also, in this case, potentially meant opportunity lost.

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The pots o’ plenty: Somewhat lost amid the pontification of outside league executives and media types who fancy themselves as de facto executives is the reality that the Heat remain positioned to offer value for a 33-year-old guard who is due nearly $200 million over the next four years.

Essentially, the Heat have three pots the Blazers can dip into to craft a deal.

In Pot A are the contracts needed to match for salary-cap purposes: There is the $29.7 million on the final year of Kyle Lowry’s contract. There is the $18.2 million due next season to Duncan Robinson, who has an additional two seasons on his contract. And there is the $27 million for 2023-24 on the start of the four-year extension Herro signed in October.

In Pot B are low-cost prospects who could potentially offer long-term payoff, from Jaquez to 2022 first-round pick Nikola Jovic to 2023 playoff breakout performer Caleb Martin. The Heat likely would be willing to offer one; the Blazers would likely want two. (Could Martin prove to be a deal breaker on either end?)

In Pot C are up to four first-round draft picks to the Heat could cobble together with a trade of Herro to a third party for at least one and a potential agreement with the Oklahoma City Thunder to free up another. It is doubtful the Heat would want to offer more than two; it is likely the Blazers would want at least three.

The bottom line is that if crafting such a trade would create consternation from both sides, then it’s not a case of one of the sides lacking components for something equitable.

Waiting game, Part II: “If it takes months, it takes months.”

That utterance from Cronin probably stood for every reason why the Heat do not hold such media sessions. Pat Riley wasn’t even in Las Vegas. Erik Spoelstra went out of his way not to comment publicly on anything Heat related, lest he wind up being cornered about Lillard. (He was more than cordial otherwise.)

If, indeed, it “takes months,” then it only sabotages the Blazers’ move toward some of the most intriguing young talent in the league. Scoot Henderson at the start of his NBA career does not need the spectacle of Lillard at media day. The Blazers, for their part, hardly need the look of having Lillard remain away from camp after one of the most productive seasons of his career.

What happened in Vegas would have been a lot easier if it actually got done in Vegas.

IN THE LANE

GOT AWAY: Typically when a higher-profile candidate is bypassed in a draft, the ongoing inclination is to reflect on what might have gotten away. With No. 18 pick Jaquez missing most of summer league for the Heat with his shoulder injury, the inclination from the 2023 draft likely will be reflection on Cam Whitmore, the forward from Villanova who fell from lottery prospect to the Rockets at No. 20. Whitmore entered the weekend averaging 19.3 points in his four summer-league appearances in Las Vegas. With the 2020 draft, it likely long will remain the Heat taking Precious Achiuwa at No. 20, ahead of the Philadelphia 76ers taking Tyrese Maxey at No. 21. The greatest such consternation in recent Heat draft history, though, likely will remain Justise Winslow at No. 10 in 2015, with Devin Booker then going No. 13 to the Phoenix Suns.

MOVING ON: As could be expected, Gabe Vincent said moving on from the Heat in free agency to the Los Angeles Lakers for a three-year, $33 million contract left him with a flood of emotions. He shared those thoughts on JJ Redick’s “Old Man and The Three” podcast. “Miami was the team that gave me the opportunity,” said Vincent, who bypassed a reported four-year, $34 million offer from the Heat. “I grew while there. We had some great runs while I was there. So it wasn’t easy. And I don’t think it’s any secret, I was pretty open about willing to go back and wanting to go back. And love for the organization, I think it was pretty reciprocated. But when it came down to it, business got in the way. And there were certain points that the Heat could only get to. And other teams were able to get to more.”

AS FOR MAX: As with Vincent, the way the Heat played to the strengths of Strus also proved to be the perfect advertisement for free agency. In lavishing Strus with a four-year, $63 million contract, Cleveland Cavaliers general manager Koby Altman noted, according to Cleveland.com, “We really want to diversify our offense. Max creates a dynamic offense for you. A lot of flow, a lot of movements, a lot of gravitational pull where he doesn’t even have to touch the ball.” It was as if Strus’ Heat video was his promotional video. “We’ll have sets and different actions in the half court that will be hard to guard,” Altman said. “Just watch his movement in Miami and tell us that’s not going to help us immensely.”

THREE-MAN WEAVE: The Big3 halfcourt circuit will be at Kaseya Center next Sunday, bringing a touch of Heat nostalgia back to South Florida. Among those on the rosters scheduled to play in the six halfcourt games are former Heat players Mario Chalmers, Michael Beasley, Joe Johnson, Jamario Moon, Rashard Lewis and Gerald Green, as well as Glen Rice Jr., son of the former Heat forward and current Heat scout.

NUMBER

$16.3 million. Price paid in acquired salaries at the start of free agency by the Oklahoma City Thunder in order to acquire five future second-round picks. As part of that payout, the Thunder acquired the Heat’s 2029 and ’30 second-round picks at the cost of taking on the $9.5 million final year on Oladipo’s contract.