The Miami Heat just pulled off one of the most lopsided moves of the summer, and Clippers fans should be feeling it. By turning Kyle Anderson and Kevin Love into Norman Powell, the Heat managed to walk away with a legitimate high-level scorer without giving up anything of real value. It is not often you can say a team got a near-22 points-per-game wing for free, but this is about as close as it gets.
Powell is coming off the best season of his 10-year career. He averaged 21.8 points per game while shooting 48.4 percent from the field and a scorching 41.8 percent from beyond the arc. He was not just a stat sheet-filler either. He led the Clippers in scoring 30 times, posted 38 games with 20 or more points, and dropped at least 30 on 10 different occasions. That kind of production is not something teams usually part ways with unless they are getting real value in return.
Instead, the Clippers opted to reroute Powell in a three-team trade that also involved the Jazz and sent John Collins to Los Angeles. But what the Heat gave up in Kyle Anderson and Kevin Love barely even cracked the rotation when it mattered last year. Anderson had a short stint in Miami after being acquired in February and never found a real role. Love had been in town a little longer, but his minutes dwindled and his on-court impact was negligible. Neither player figured to be part of Miami’s long-term plans.
Miami got Powell for a highly favorable price
That is what makes this move so remarkable for the Heat. Powell gives them something they sorely lacked for most of last season: consistent bench scoring and a proven late-game shotmaker. He finished second in the entire league in fourth-quarter three-point percentage, shooting nearly 50 percent in the clutch. For a team that so often had to grind out possessions and lean on Jimmy Butler (earlier) and Tyler Herro (later) to create everything late in games, Powell offers immediate relief.
He also fits perfectly with how Miami likes to play. He can operate with or without the ball, plays with pace, and has a playoff-tested mentality. His ability to come off screens, relocate in space, and punish defenders who sag off him makes him a natural fit in Erik Spoelstra’s system.
It is rare to see the Heat get something for nothing, but this move fits that mold. While the Clippers shifted focus to frontcourt help, Miami quietly walked away with one of the league’s most efficient scorers, giving up two rotation castoffs to do it. If Powell stays healthy and continues producing anywhere close to the level he did last year, this trade will look even more lopsided by the time the season ends. LA gave the Heat an opportunity, and now Miami might be the ones laughing all the way to the playoffs.