“Grabbing me a Damian Lillard Jersey”: Having Survived Potential Portland Trade, 23 Y/O Heat Player Roots For Bucks’ $45,640,084 Worth Addition

Tyler Herro had for weeks expected to be traded away from the Miami Heat in a deal that would have seen Damian Lillard joining the franchise. The 23-year-old has been touted constantly as trade fodder since he arrived at the Heat in 2019, but seems to have survived another summer of rumors. Despite the speculation, Damian Lillard ended up signing with the Milwaukee Bucks and will earn a whopping $45,640,084 in the upcoming season, according to Spotrac. Born and brought up in Milwaukee himself, Herro recently posted on Twitter guaranteeing his individual support for Dame and claimed that he will himself be buying a Lillard Bucks jersey.

The Miami Heat had largely expected to land Damian Lillard after the player’s intentions to join them became apparent. They made multiple moves with the expectation that Lillard would arrive but ended up losing out. A host of other teams showed up with better packages and the Bucks eventually won the bidding war. 

Tyler Herro lends support to Damian Lillard after the Milwaukee Bucks trade

Herro was largely touted as the biggest trade piece that the Heat had this offseason in order to use for Lillard. They would have sweetened the deal with picks and a couple of other players, but the package would have been a non-starter without Tyler Herro.

The 23-year-old has been linked with a move away from the Heat constantly in recent seasons despite being an important part of the team. Herro’s shooting ability means that the Heat have relied on him, especially in the Playoffs in recent seasons.

While the player has the potential to develop into a bonafide star, he was expected to be part of the potential deal between the Trail Blazers and the Heat. That, however, did not happen, which means Herro has stayed put for yet another season.

Regardless, on Twitter, he initially responded to a post by ESPN, claiming that the trade rumors had been settled until the “next summer.” The 23-year-old followed it up with another tweet, claiming that he himself was going to support Lillard by buying his Bucks jersey:

“in all seriousness… as a kid from Milwaukee , I’m grabbing me a Dame jersey.”

There is little doubt that most fans would have loved to see Lillard play for the Heat, even if it meant saying goodbye to Herro. That of course, has not happened, and Lillard will now be looking forward to his future alongside Giannis Antetokounmpo and company.

Tyler Herro was criticized for reluctance to join Boston Celtics

Back in 2019, the Miami Heat selected Herro as their 13th pick in the draft. This was despite Herro himself being convinced of the fact that he was about to join the Celtics.

However, Herro claimed on Instagram that he was blessed to sign for the Heat. The youngster had claimed he thought he was about to join the Celtics and was not happy with the possibility.

While Herro is obviously free to have his preferences, a range of Celtics fans did not think so. On Reddit, people claimed that it would have been an honor for Herro to play for the legendary franchise. Of course, a range of fans also talked about how the Miami Heat had been guilty of continuously looking to use Herro as a trade sweetener.