Should The Portland Trail Blazers Regret Not Trading For Tyler Herro Or Jaime Jaquez?

Miami Heat rookie Jaime Jaquez Jr. and star guard Tyler Herro spent all offseason hearing their names in trade rumors for former Portland Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard.

Heat fans are practically thanking general manager Joe Cronin for not going through with the trade, as they are reaping the benefits of Herro and Jaquez balling out this season.

Per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, Portland expressed their lack of interest in Herro in July when Lillard first requested a trade. It's understandable considering the Trail Blazers' young backcourt with Scoot Henderson, Shaedon Sharpe and Anfernee Simons. Still, Herro would have given Portland another guard besides Simons that could score 20 points on a given night.

As for Jaquez Jr., Portland would have received a forward to consistency produce offensively beside Jerami Grant. Jaquez is the best rookie outside of Victor Wembanyama and Chet Holgrem, averaging 13.1 points on 51 percent shooting.

Of course, the Trail Blazers acquiring Herro and Jaquez Jr. for Lillard looks good in hindsight. However, this doesn't factor in the Trail Blazers' defensive woes and rebounding disparity, which would still both likely be issues with Herro and Jaquez Jr. in Portland. It's not a guarantee they would be as productive in Portland either. Herro may have to be more of a facilitator with Simons and Sharpe. Meanwhile, Jaquez may be utilized as more of a big instead of a wing to aid the Trail Blazers' rebounding and defensive issues.

So to answer the question, the trade not happening is more for the Heat to be grateful than Portland to be regretful.

Jayden Armant is a contributor to Inside the Heat. He is a student at Howard University. He can be reached at or follow him on Twitter @jaydenarmant.

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