Trajan Langdon has made it clear that he values financial flexibility as he tries to build around Cade Cunningham, but he’d have to sacrifice some of it in a recent proposed trade for Tyler Herro of the Miami Heat.
Herro has once again become the topic of speculation, as he is extension eligible this summer and apparently looking for a number the Heat are unwilling to give him. There’s also the fact that Pat Riley generally balks at early extensions, and the Heat are in a bit of a standoff with their All-Star guard who averaged 24 points, 5.5 assists and 5.2 rebounds last season on 47/37/87 shooting splits, numbers that would certainly look nice next to Cade Cunningham.
Bleacher Report suggested the following trade to get Herro to Detroit:
Herro would certainly qualify as the second star the Pistons need, but you then have to wonder how Jaden Ivey fits in and what Herro’s addition would mean for him. Would it push Ivey to the bench? Likely.
It’s the kind of deal that would also go against what Langdon has preached so far, which is flexibility, defense and patience.
Detroit Pistons rumors: Tyler Herro, but at what cost?
I’ve always liked the idea of Herro next to Cade, as he’s an efficient scoring machine who can also create for teammates. He is already where the Pistons hope Jaden Ivey will someday be, though neither of them are very good defenders.
Langdon has clearly prioritized defense and availability in his acquisitions so far, and Herro would really only fit one of those, as he’s not a great defender, though he hasn’t killed the Heat.
But Herro only has one more year left on his deal before getting another hefty raise, and do the Pistons really want to be the ones to give it to him? Ivey may never reach Herro’s level as a pure scorer, but he can likely give you most of what Herro does and at a much cheaper price.
Langdon spoke recently about not getting “locked into” the wrong player, so he’s clearly going to be cautious about who gets that second big deal behind Cade Cunningham.
Langdon has also preached patience, which this would violate, as Ron Holland has barely scratched the surface of what he can be and may end up being a two-way wing who is more valuable than Herro overall, especially when you factor in that he is under team control on a rookie deal for several more seasons.
Take Holland out of this deal and you might have a winner, but it’s hard to imagine Trajan Langdon giving up his flexibility and patience by dealing Holland after only one season.