With all the talk about Tyler Herro as part of the Dame trade, I thought it would be interesting, given the current lull in the Dame trade talks that Herro has been a part of, to go over the last few years of Toronto’s interest in the Miami Heat guard.
The Raptors interest in Tyler isn’t anything new; during the 2021 trade deadline, it was reported by Grange that “Tyler Herro is the ‘[sticking point](https://twitter.com/michaelgrange/status/1374485364488892422)’ in a Kyle Lowry trade. Obviously, that trade never ended up happening and Lowry was traded during the 2021 2021 offseason.
As part of the sign and trade negotiations, the Raptors did try to get Herro but [the Heat weren’t willing to give him up](https://www.miamiherald.com/article253028708.html), ultimately ending up with Goran “boo this man” Dragic (who ultimately cost them a first round pick to salary dump) and Precious Achiuwa.
More recently, it was reported in the 2023 offseason that the Raptors have “[exploratory interest](https://www.si.com/nba/raptors/news/toronto-raptors-interested-in-trade-for-miami-heat-tyler-herro)” in Tyler Herro. Whether this was mere due diligence i.e. “what’s the price tag” or them realizing the makeup of the current roster requires more significant guard play is another matter entirely. With the loss of Fred VanVleet hampering the already uneven ballhandling on the roster, one would lean more on the latter, doubly so given Herro’s shooting and the current rosters lack thereof.
For those wondering what exactly the Raptors could offer in a Herro deal, there’s a couple of snags:
* Regardless of their interest, the main point of consideration for a package is predicated on what the Blazers would want, not the Heat as those assets would be re-routed to Portland
* Per reports, the Blazers want expiring contracts and draft compensation besides Tyler Herro and, presumably, Duncan Robinson
* After the Temple signing, the Raptors are so close to the luxury tax that they ultimately can’t take on more salary than they’re sending out, meaning they have to send out more than $27M
* Garrett Temple and Jalen McDaniels can’t be included as filler due to them only recently being signed
* Boucher, Young and Porter Jr. is only a combined $26 million; before any draft compensation is included with them, it is likely Malachi Flynn would need to be included to make the money work
* It is possible a 4th team could be roped in via a separate deal to acquire some draft capital for Boucher but otherwise it is tricky to make the outgoing salary work without moving him along with Thad Young and Otto Porter Jr. as filler
* As Gary Trent Jr. is essentially an expiring contract, his $18.5M contract can be included with Thad Young and Otto Porter/Malachi Flynn though this presents the same issue with trading Herro to the Blazers i.e. “We have Scoot, Simons and Sharpe, why do we need you?” and thus necessitates a 4th team like the Nets to get involved via draft compensation
* In fact, it is possible a sticking point – besides Trent’s camp’s price tag – in extending Gary is the Raptors not wanting to exclude him as an option to acquire Tyler Herro; for comparison, Herro is under contract for 4 more years
* Draft capital is a lot more limited than on paper; due to the protections of the 2024 1st sent out for the Jakob Poeltl deal (Top 6 protected from 2024-26), the Raptors can’t send out a 1st until 2028 (swap in 2027) due to the Stepien Rule
* The Raptors can’t send out a 2nd rounder until 2028 due to those same protections; if the pick doesn’t convey in 2026, it becomes a 2026 2nd & 2027 2nd
* The Raptors can remove protections on their 2024 pick but that will require sending something to the Spurs and, regardless of how bad this draft class may be, is an incredibly risky move to free up a pick in 2026
* Barring another trade, the Raptors don’t have any other 1sts or 2nds beside their own to include in a trade, and it is highly unlikely they would trade an unprotected 1st several years out for Herro
* As Precious Achiuwa and Malachi Flynn are both pending RFAs, it is possible the Raptors choose to move one or both so they can extend key members of the current core/re-sign them in the 2024 offseason (O.G., Siakam, Trent Jr.) given the unlikelihood of an extension for the three as of this writing
* Besides the above 3 UFAs, the Raptors also have to consider extensions for Scottie Barnes and Christian Koloko so their exploratory interest may be rooted in locking up this current core for the next few years i.e. when they assume Scottie Barnes prime will occur
TL;DR The Raptors have had interest in Tyler Herro for a bit but what they can offer for him is…debatable in terms of whether there’s enough there to get involved as the 3rd team.
by CazOnReddit
