Not too long ago, Tyler Herro was viewed as close to an untouchable on the Miami Heat's roster as possible, and part of their foundational core. However, now, much of that has changed, and he could quietly be on the trade block with less than two weeks before the NBA Trade Deadline.
There are a multitude of reasons why the Heat's sentiment around Herro may have changed.
It's not just the injuries, the addition of Norman Powell, his upcoming contract decision, or even Erik Spoelstra's new offense. It's the culmination of everything together that could have him on the outs in Miami.
Throw in that the Heat has its eyes on making a move for a superstar in the near future, and Miami almost has to consider trading Herro ahead of the February 5 NBA Trade Deadline.
The Heat have to explore Tyler Herro's trade market
It's far from a sure thing, but, especially at this point, it would almost be malpractice if the Heat didn't at least explore Herro's trade market over the next week and a half.
Whether that involves a bigger Giannis Antetokounmpo trade or not, the Heat needs to see where Herro's trade value currently stands. Even more so if there's no general consensus about whether they're going to give him a contract extension or not.
With the amount of time that he's missed so far this season, there's an argument to be made that his trade value would be considered at an all-time low. Add in the fact that I'm not sure many teams are going to be lining up to give him a big contract extension, and it makes you seriously wonder what exactly Miami could get on the trade market for Herro.
And that remains one of their biggest problems. In a perfect world, the Heat would not trade Herro right now. But that doesn't mean they shouldn't explore it, and that a trade of Herro may not be currently on the table.
With as much uncertainty that revolves around the Heat's future at the moment, I'm not sure anything can be considered completely off the table. The front office obviously has plans for the trade deadline and beyond, but if things do begin to fall apart, there have to be some alternative plans in place.
Where a Herro trade falls in that equation remains to be seen. But, at this point, it's certainly one possibility to keep a close eye on. To be quite honest, I'm not sure many expected that to be even a slight possibility just a few months ago.