Miami Heat rookie Jaime Jaquez Jr. and star guard Tyler Herro have spent the entire offseason hearing their names mentioned in rumors regarding a trade involving former Portland Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard.Heat fans are practically thanking general manager Joe Cronin for not making the trade because they benefit from the absences of Herro and Jaquez this season.According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Portland expressed a lack of interest in Herro in July when Lillard first requested a trade.
That’s understandable considering the Trail Blazers’ young backcourt with Scoot Henderson, Shaedon Sharpe and Anfernee Simons. Still, Herro would have given Portland another guard alongside Simons who could score 20 points on a given night. As for Jaquez Jr., Portland would have received a striker alongside Jerami Grant who would show consistency on offense. Jaquez is the top rookie alongside Victor Wembanyama and Chet Holgrem averaging 13.1 points on 51 percent shooting.Of course, in hindsight, it seems good that the Trail Blazers took Herro and Jaquez Jr. for Lillard. However, that doesn’t take into account the Trail Blazers’ defensive issues and rebounding disparity, which would likely still be issues with Herro and Jaquez Jr. in Portland. There’s also no guarantee they would be as productive in Portland. Herro may need to be more of a facilitator with Simons and Sharpe. Meanwhile, Jaquez can be deployed more as a big instead of a wing to help the Trail Blazers’ defensive and rebounding issues. So to answer the question, the fact that the trade doesn’t happen is more of a reason for the Heat to be grateful than for Portland to be sorry.
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