Monday Headlines: Tyler Herro/Tyrese Maxey Trade Talk Edition

One of these Wildcats could be on the move.

By John Morgan Francis@MonJorgan Jul 3, 2023, 6:40am EDT

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NBA: Playoffs-Philadelphia 76ers at Miami Heat

UPDATE

Looks like Tyrese Maxey isn’t going anywhere.

According to ESPN NBA insider Brian Windhorst, the Philadelphia 76ers are telling teams to go away if they want to include Maxey in any trade.

“The other thing the Sixers are wanting to be known is that they are not going to trade Tyrese Maxey,” Windhorst said Monday on The Hoop Collective.

So for now, looks like Maxey is sticking with the Sixers.

Nearly every NBA off-season has a highly-desired star (almost always a veteran player) that ends up asking for a trade and ends up going to the team of their choosing — or at least one of the teams they list as a preferred landing spot. This year, that player is Damian Lillard.

Lillard is the star point guard for the Portland Trail Blazers — the team that drafted NBA G-League’s Scoot Henderson second overall just a couple of weeks ago. Henderson and Lillard play the same position and are at complete opposites of their career. Lillard is towards the end of his prime and looking to compete for a championship while Henderson is coming in as a rookie and ready to become the face of the franchise.

So, something has to give. And it did over the weekend when Lillard requested a trade to the Miami Heat — something he’s held off from doing the last few years despite the Trail Blazers being in the middle of the pack (or worse). So, with trade rumors now swirling on just what a trade package for Lillard might look like, former Kentucky Wildcats Tyler Herro and Tyrese Maxey have emerged as intriguing options for the Blazers to look in to.

The Heat could package Herro with one or two other “young” pieces and/or expiring contracts (such as Kyle Lowry) to make the money work and grant Portland with a more flexible future. But though the Heat are Lillard’s preferred landing spot, that doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll end up there.

The Philadelphia 76ers could package Maxey (a younger, slightly more appealing player than Herro) with other players to beat the Heat’s offer. They could also end up as the third team in a potential three-team deal — if the talks come to that.

The NBA off-season is always full of drama and rumors. This summer, one of the league’s more beloved stars and two former Wildcats are in the middle of the speculation. One has to believe that it won’t take long for a deal to be done. So, stay tuned.