Tyler Herro impressed Heat during pre-draft workout in Miami. Pat Riley goes into detail
Heat president Pat Riley spoke to reporters early Friday morning minutes after the completion of the 2019 NBA Draft. Here’s some of what he had to say about Miami’s first-round pick, Kentucky shooting guard Tyler Herro ...
(Note: Because of trade rules, the Heat can’t comment on its second-round selection, Stanford forward KZ Okpala, until July 6 — the first day that trades utilizing the 2019-20 salary cap can be completed. Okpala will miss the first part of summer league due to this issue.)
▪ Riley said the Heat needs shooting and Herro helps address that need.
“We’ve lost some of our perimeter players over the last year and Tyler had just an incredible workout with us and great interview,” Riley said. “I saw him in three or four tournament games and just really impressed with his overall game. The fact that he’s a sticker and a great free-throw shooting is just part of his game. We do feel like there’s an upside to him that can make him even more complete once he gets more opportunities in those situations. I think the way we develop players here, especially [Erik Spoelstra] and the staff, that we made a great pick today and so we’re excited about it. He fills a void and we feel, or I do, that he has an opportunity to play immediately for us. It’s going to be up to him. It will take a lot of hard work, but I’ve never met a more enthusiastic guy.”
▪ Herro obviously impressed the Heat during his pre-draft workout in Miami. But just how impressive was the workout? Riley remembers Herro making his final 25 shots.
“He shot the ball extremely well,” Riley said of Herro’s workout at AmericanAirlines Arena. “But I think he shot the ball extremely well in most of his workouts. But in one of our workouts, we have one particular shooting drill that not one of our guards in all the years that we brought them in for workouts even came close to what he did. It usually takes the Ray Allens of the world and the Wayne Ellingtons of the world to really, it’s a challenging three-point shooting drill, and he just buried it.”
▪ When discussing Herro’s game, Riley said “he’s a guy that can really space the floor wherever you put him. It’s going to allow more room for other players to create and then he also, on a second or third pass, can get right to a pick and roll, and be very creative. He makes great passes — pocket passes. He’s aggressive at going to the basket, he can make layups, he can make little floaters in the lane.”
▪ Herro averaged 14 points on 46.2 percent shooting from the field and 35.5 percent (60 of 169) shooting on threes, 4.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists in 37 games as a freshman at Kentucky this past season. He averaged a team-high 32.6 minutes per game
“He had a rough start at the beginning of the year when he watched every single one of his threes and he didn’t shoot the ball well at the beginning, but the last 16 games and the tournament, I think he shot over 45 percent or close to 45 percent,” Riley said of Herro. “And when I talked to [Kentucky coach John Calipari], Cal couldn’t keep him off the court. Cal wants to win and he said he just couldn’t keep the kid off the court at that time. He had grown so much during the course of the year. He had so much confidence in him, so I think he’s a complete player that will compete defensively and get better. “
▪ How does Herro fit with the Heat as part of a young core that already includes Bam Adebayo, Derrick Jones Jr., Josh Richardson and Justise Winslow?
Riley: “[Herro] adds depth. We’ve lost four players, four guards and he adds that kind of depth. He is the perfect complement I think to any player, because he can space the floor and shoot the ball. You can also put the ball in his hands. He’s a catch-and-shoot player and he’s a pick-and-roll player. What I like about him is his work ethic is second to none. And all of the guys we have here are developing and growing and they want to achieve something in this league.
“I think he’s going to fit right in with all of these guys. He’s got the same kind of cockiness and attitude that Tyler Johnson had. I love Tyler and Rodney McGruder, these competitive guys. But I don’t think they can shoot the way this guy can. So we need that. We filled a need tonight specifically with him and had him rated very high and so I think he’s going to fit in well with these guys. We’re getting younger. Finally.”
This story was originally published June 21, 2019 at 1:53 AM.
