How the Miami Heat managed to pry Norman Powell away from the LA Clippers, for pennies on the dollar, still has to be confusing for everyone in the front office. It was head-scratching when it happened, and that sentiment has only grown even more through the first week of the season. That's because Powell has continued to be one of the best - and most efficient - scorers in the league.
For the Heat, Powell has been the team's leading scorer through his first three games played. He missed Wednesday night's game against the Charlotte Hornets due to soreness, but there's no question he's emerged as a season-saver for the Heat with the absence of Tyler Herro.
The fact that the Heat got Powell for two players who weren't in the Heat's rotation (Kyle Anderson and Kevin Love) is likely going to be remembered as the steal of the summer.
The Clippers decision still doesn't make sense
Sure, the Clippers made this move to save money, avoid giving Powell the payday that he's likely seeking after this season, and it quickly opened the door to sign Bradley Beal (who was recently bought out), but none of that looks great in retrospect.
Especially the move for Beal, who has been a near-disaster to begin the year for LA.
And it's not even the fact that Beal's already battling a back injury. Even when he was in the lineup for the Clippers, he didn't offer much promise. In two games, Beal is averaging six points on 25 percent shooting from 3-point range for LA.
It's safe to say that LA would probably be benefiting significantly more if they had Powell instead of Beal, especially considering they probably could've gotten more in exchange for him at the NBA Trade Deadline. Instead, they decided to essentially give him away during the summer.
But the Clippers' loss is the Heat's gain. And they are reaping those benefits.
I suppose the Heat still need to sort out what the plan is for Powell moving forward, especially in the final year of his contract, but I can't imagine the front office didn't factor that in before they acquired him during the summer.
There had to have been some sort of soft plan in place. Even if we don't know what that may be, the hope is that they have a general idea of how they're going to handle the next few months with Powell.
Still, no matter what types of headaches or anxiety that may create for the front office, the Heat are willing to live with that with the impact that Powell has been making for the team so far this season.
And it continues to make little sense why the Clippers were so quick to essentially give away Powell during the offseason.