The Heat would, of course, be right back where they were last summer, when all the talk was about trading Lillard for Herro, draft selections, and other young players, primarily Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Nikola Jovic. After a year, the cost will have decreased.
However, Herro is still going to be a vital piece of the puzzle. Around him and Terry Rozier, the Heat could put together a package that would include picks, maybe Jovic or Jaquez, but not both. This season, Jaquez has been among the most impressive rookies in his class, and Jovic has started to establish himself as a starter for the Heat.
The issue facing the Heat is that Herro has also become less valuable, in addition to Lillard. Herro has only played in 41 games this season, continuing his unreliability after a promising start to the year. Throughout his career, he has missed a substantial amount of time due to injuries in every season. Out of the 283 games he has played, he has missed 27% of the games his team has played.
That excludes the playoffs from the previous year, when Herro was injured in the first game and did not return. The Miami Heat might still try to acquire Lillard, but they would have to make a stronger offer than just Herro.
