A recent report indicates that the Utah Jazz are willing to trade a pick and a player for Miami Heat guard Tyler Herro, although Utah does not want to include big man Kelly Olynyk in any deal.
Herro was selected with the No. 13 overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft after one season playing college basketball at the University of Kentucky. He averaged 14.0 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.1 steals per game in 37 appearances with the Wildcats during the 2018-19 season (all starts). The 6-foot-5 guard also shot the ball with impressive accuracy from the field, seeing as he converted 46.2 percent of his field-goal attempts and 35.5 percent of his three-point attempts.
Herro’s contributions on the offensive end of the floor translated into a whole lot of success for the 2018-19 iteration of the Wildcats. They finished the season with an impressive 30-7 record and made it all the way to the NCAA Tournament’s Elite Eight, where they lost to Auburn University by a final score of 77-71. Herro scored just seven points and converted three of his 11 field-goal attempts in the loss.
The 23-year-old has played four seasons in the NBA, all as a member of the storied Heat franchise. He averaged 20.1 points, 5.4 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game across 67 appearances with the Heat during the 2022-23 regular season (all starts).
Additionally, Herro led the league in free-throw percentage, as he converted an impressive 93.4 percent of his free-throw attempts.
Unfortunately, Herro’s stint with the Heat during the 2023 postseason was very brief. He played in just one playoff game, Game 1 of Miami’s first-round series against Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks. In the second quarter of that game, Herro broke his right hand after diving for a loose ball and was sidelined for the remainder of the Heat’s NBA Finals run.
The Heat would be wise not to trade Herro to the Jazz, assuming Utah isn’t willing to part with either Lauri Markkanen or Walker Kessler. After all, Herro is fresh off arguably the best season of his pro career in the 2022-23 season, and at just 23 years old, he likely has his best basketball ahead of him.
