When the Miami Heat acquired Norman Powell for Kevin Love, Kyle Anderson, and a worthless draft pick, my first reaction was one of suspicion. As in, there had to be more to this, right? Was Norman Powell secretly really injured? Was a suspension coming? Did Kevin Love somehow time travel back to the 2016 version of himself?
It made zero sense to me that the Heat could add a 20-point-per-game scorer coming off the best year of his career for essentially free. In my head, no other NBA team being willing to give up more than two end-of-bench players and one future pick was cause for concern.
Turns out, Powell was seeking a deal from the Clippers that paid him around $30 million per year. He's also in the final year of his contract in 2025-26, so the Heat might not be able to retain him after this year. Even considering those things... You make that trade 100 times out of 99. Every other NBA team overthought this. The Heat didn't, and they are being rewarded for it.
With Miami, Powell's production has increased from his career campaign last year. He's averaging nearly 25 points per game and shooting over 43% from 3-point range, and every day deeper into the NBA season we get, the less it looks like these numbers are flukes. He just keeps scoring!
Norman Powell has been everything the Heat needed
The past week hasn't been pleasant for Heat fans, as the team has dropped four straight games. But Powell's production has remained steady and that's a great sign going forward.
Plenty of players start a season scorching hot and then crash back down to Earth. But Powell scored over 21 points per game last year, then joined a team that runs and guns way more than the Clippers did in his time there. It's kind of a perfect situation for him to be in — and after Powell was notably disappointed about being snubbed for an All-Star team, his motivation for this year is clearly high.
People in NBA front offices have forgotten more about basketball than I will ever know, so I can't be too harsh on them. But I do think that many of them often overthink decisions and then don't make a clear home run move. Yeah, Norman Powell will demand a big contract next year... But he was free for the taking this year, and the Heat were willing to forget all else and get their guy. They're reaping the benefits every time Powell drains another three.