The Miami Heat have spent the 2025 offseason patiently waiting for the opportunity to make a big splash. Miami has ensured that its promising talent will return, but after going 37-45 in 2024-25, the need for improvement was clear.
Thankfully, just when it seemed as though the well was running dry on the open market, the Heat made a surprisingly low-cost trade for Norman Powell.
Miami was preparing to enter the 2025-26 season with All-Star Tyler Herro and breakout performer Davion Mitchell anchoring an otherwise unpredictable perimeter. Talent exists at multiple positions, but the Heat had a dire need for a two-way wing who can reliably put points on the board.
Miami found exactly that with a shocking three-team trade that will bring Powell to South Beach at the cost of Kyle Anderson and Kevin Love.
BREAKING: The Clippers, Jazz and Heat have agreed to a trade that sends Norman Powell to Miami, John Collins to Los Angeles, and Kevin Love, Kyle Anderson and a 2027 Clippers second-round pick to the Jazz, sources tell ESPN. pic.twitter.com/o0FkV0o2l8
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 7, 2025
Powell, the prototypical culture fit, will have an opportunity make an instant impact as either the sixth man or as a starter in 2025-26.
Heat land the two-way scoring guard they needed in Norman Powell
Between Herro and Mitchell, the Heat have a balanced backcourt that enables them to potentially thrive on both ends of the floor. Mitchell is a tenacious defender who averaged 10.3 points and 5.3 assists per game with Miami in 2024-25, while Herro posted a career-best 23.9 points per game.
The harsh reality in Miami, however, is that they lack a true go-to scoring option—making the addition of another respectable scoring threat essential for a team that typically wins via the sum of its parts.
Powell is coming off of what may have been the best individual season of his career. He averaged 21.8 points, 3.2 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.2 steals, and 3.0 three-point field goals made on .484/.418/.804 shooting.
It was the fifth time in seven years that the sharpshooter converted at least 40.0 percent of his three-point field goals—and he shot 39.7 and 39.9 percent in the lone exceptions.
A genuinely elite three-point shooter who has found his three-level touch, Powell can help create a more balanced scoring distribution. He'll pair with veteran scorers such as Bam Adebayo, Herro, and Andrew Wiggins as high-volume players, with up-and-comers likely to stake their claim for more touches along the way.
Powell would certainly be up to the task of playing away from the ball if that were to transpire, as he buried 45.2 percent of his catch-and-shoot threes in 2024-25.
Though not the defender he was with the Toronto Raptors, Powell is still an ideal fit for Erik Spoelstra's defensive system. He combines a strong frame with a near 6'11" wingspan to be able to guard multiple positions and switch comfortably against taller scorers.
Anderson and Love were by no means poor players, but the Heat just landed Powell at a more than reasonable cost—and they addressed their most glaring needs in the process.