After James Harden had requested a trade from the Rockets in late
2020, Heat Twitter was divided as to whether or not they would give up Tyler Herro in a Harden trade.
Fans in favour of keeping Herro argued that he has a bright future ahead of him, being someone who scored
37 in the Eastern Conference Finals against the Celtics in his rookie season. They argued that the
2019-20 squad had reached the Finals and could only get
better from here. Arguments were also made questioning Harden’s work ethic and whether he would be committed to the Heat culture.
Fans in favour of giving up Herro in a Harden trade argued that players on the caliber of Harden do not come along regularly, and Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo require that
extra piece to take them over the top even if a sacrifice of the young
core is necessary. This faction argued that Harden would get used to and
fit into Heat culture, and if not, he can still give you 40+ on any given night so commitment wasn’t all too important in that sense.
Serious arguments were had on Twitter and the Heat Civil
War reached a breaking point where some of those in favour of keeping Herro began to attack Bam - an untouchable
player.
As the season played out, and Harden got traded to the Brooklyn Nets, the consensus shifted to the idea that Pat Riley should make (and should’ve made) serious moves to get the
2020-21 Heat team up to grips. In this sense, those in favour of giving up Herro were victors of the Heat Civil
War.
‘Herro scored 37 in the ECF IN HIS ROOKIE SEASON. He has a bright future ahead of him, how could we give him up? Harden’s lazy
ass would ruin the culture and system we have here already.’
‘Harden can give you 40+ on any given night! We need that kind of
player to put alongside
Jimmy and Bam if we want a championship! His effect goes beyond what the Herro and the young core brings - Herro can’
t even defend, is inconsistent and his ceiling isn’t as high as you would think.’
‘Ugh, Herro fans are starting to attack Bam - this Heat Civil
War has gotten out of control!’
