Heat Civil War

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!’