The Heat sent plenty of young assets and intriguing talents back to the Bucks in exchange for Giannis Antetokounmpo, but perhaps none will be missed as much in South Beach as Tyler Herro's shot creation off the dribble. Herro's skillset is an instrumental one in the modern NBA that the Heat are still lacking after an offseason of retooling around Giannis.
The Heat will miss Herro more than anyone realizes
Shooting is always the first skill that comes to mind when discussing supporting talent next to Giannis. The Bucks put that knowledge to use for many years by filling out their roster with snipers at practically every position aside from Giannis and other Antetokoumpos. But an overlooked need for a great Giannis-led team is also a costar perimeter creator.
The Bucks were at their best when Khris Middleton was creating his own shot off the dribble to take pressure off Giannis and add another element to Milwaukee's offense. That advantage carried over into the brief Damian Lillard era, but disappeared last season without a proven star guard. No offense to Ryan Rollins but he's not quite there yet.
Herro will have his hands full leading the Bucks next season, and he's not at the level of either Middleton or Lillard during their best seasons with the Bucks. But he would be a great player to pair alongside Giannis. Herro's fearless pull-up shooting would force defenses to be more honest walling off the paint against Giannis and just give the Greek Freak a chance to relax on some plays.
Miami will search for a Herro replacement
Ironically, the Heat's biggest need at this point is a player just like Herro. Their offseason pickups on the perimeter have been solid, but veer more towards shooters than shot creators. Both Tim Hardaway Jr and Klay Thompson are in the top 20 of most made threes in NBA history, but neither has the same on-ball juice as Herro.
The Heat don't even need someone quite of Herro's level, but they've missed out on many other shot creating guards as well. In addition to trading Herro, they also let Norman Powell walk in free agency this offseason. Powell was just selected as an All-Star for the Heat last season due to his incredible shot creation.
There were plenty of other options around the league of shot-creating guards during the offseason, but the Heat didn't land any of them. Among cheaper signings, Anfernee Simons and Jordan Clarkson stand out as established pull-up threats. Of course, the Heat will still have options to trade for a shot creator during the season but their asset chest is thin after the Giannis trade. Perhaps Miami will be forced to rely on internal development for that final missing piece.
Add us as a preferred source on Google