Blazers lukewarm on Tyler Herro as part of potential Damian Lillard trade?

There certainly were a few eyebrows raised this week when Trail Blazers general manager Joe Cronin publicly doubled down on Portland’s desire to build a team around Damian Lillard. Still, there is a belief among rival execs that the Blazers will not be able to do enough in the coming days to satisfy Lillard’s stated desire to play for a winner, and the two sides will eventually decide its best for both to move on. -via Sports Illustrated / June 28, 2023

Brooklyn, armed with a collection of Suns picks that stretch deep into the decade, can offer the most draft capital. And the Blazers could take a flyer on Ben Simmons, whose contract ($77 million over the next two seasons) isn’t as onerous as it used to be. Several other Eastern Conference contenders, including Boston, New York and Philadelphia, could jump into the mix. -via Sports Illustrated / June 28, 2023

Don’t expect a quick resolution. Lillard doesn’t want to request a trade, and the Blazers don’t love the optics of trading away their franchise player. But Portland, correctly, pushed ahead with its youth movement when it used the third pick on Scoot Henderson last week. When the dust settles on free agency, they may have to double down on it. Lillard averaged a career-best 32.2 points last season but at 32 and with $216 million left on his contract over the next four seasons, he’s an injury away from his value bottoming out. The risk of not trading Lillard before next season is enormous. -via Sports Illustrated / June 28, 2023

But trading Poole, who signed a nearly identical contract to Tyler Herro’s last summer, has only increased speculation from team personnel that the Miami Heat will explore avenues to deal Herro’s own lucrative extension before it even begins — also with consideration to the Heat’s run to the NBA Finals without Herro in the active lineup due to a broken hand. -via Yahoo! Sports / June 23, 2023

Rumors persist the Miami Heat will try to trade Tyler Herro this summer. Herro’s name popped up in a potential trade for Bradley Beal, the Washington Wizards’ talented guard who was recently dealt to Phoenix. “There’s interest in Herro,’’ an NBA executive said. “He’s a good player. I’m sure they could get a starter for him. He’s just not fitting in down there (in Miami).’’ -via Woelfel’s Press Box / June 21, 2023

Wes Goldberg: Pat Riley on Tyler Herro: “We missed him (in the playoffs). People don’t understand just how lethal he is. He gets bigger in the biggest moments. We’ve got two anchors in Bam and Tyler.” -via Twitter @wcgoldberg / June 20, 2023