Tyler Herro’s name was frequently mentioned in trade rumors involving seven-time All-NBA player Damian Lillard and the Miami Heat, but the Portland Trail Blazers reportedly weren’t interested in landing him before later dealing Lillard to the Milwaukee Bucks.

Herro remains with Miami as the defending Eastern Conference champions prepare for the regular season, ending numerous conversations about how valuable the guard is or how much he was worth on the trade market in the process.

For his part, Herro believes he’s “valuable as hell” as per a question-and-answer session with Heat manager of basketball content Couper Moorhead.

“Is that part of it strange to you, people discussing your worth, as if you’re a stock or an asset going up and down in value?” Moorhead asked.

Herro responded as follows:

“It’s funny, but everyone has their opinion. The only people that really know are the ones in the front offices making the trades and ultimately deciding whose value is what. I feel like I’m pretty damn valuable. I don’t know. I feel like I’m valuable as hell. At the end of the day, I’m going to show that this season and hopefully by the end of the season I’m going to be in the same boat as Bam.”

The 23-year-old Herro just averaged 20.1 points on 43.9 percent shooting (37.8 percent from three), 5.4 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game in his fourth NBA season (all with the Heat). He missed nearly all of the playoffs after suffering fractures of the third and fourth metacarpals in his right hand during Game 1 of the Heat’s first-round series win over the Bucks.

At his best, Herro is a fantastic scorer capable of willing his team to victory. His best moment occurred in the 2020 Eastern Conference Finals against the Boston Celtics, most notably when he dropped 37 points in a Game 4 victory.

On the flip side, Herro has seen his fair share of struggles on the other end, and he just posted his worst-ever defensive rating (115), per Basketball-Reference.

Zach Kram of The Ringer also showcased the issue with including Herro as the centerpiece of any major trade.

“But for now, at least, Herro remains just on the verge of being enough, in so many respects. He’s close to being a primary scorer, but he’s just not quite efficient enough. He’s close to being a modern point guard, but he’s just not quite dynamic enough. He’s close to being a leader of a contender, but he’s just not quite well rounded enough. And he’s close to being a centerpiece of this summer’s biggest NBA blockbuster—but thus far, it appears he’s just not quite enticing enough.”

But Herro is still an asset for the Heat. He’ll drop 20 points a game and take some offensive burden off Jimmy Butler. Even if the Blazers didn’t want him, he’s still a good player, and the story of his career certainly isn’t over at the age of 23.

Herro and the Heat start the 2023-24 campaign on Oct. 25 versus the Detroit Pistons.