Miami acquired 32-year-old Norman Powell from the Los Angeles Clippers in a three-team trade, sending veteran forwards Kevin Love and Kyle Anderson elsewhere. Powell adds scoring punch to a Heat offense that ranked bottom-third over the past three seasons. He averaged a career-high 21.8 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.1 assists last season on 48.4 percent shooting overall and 41.8 percent from three. Bleacher Report projects Powell as Miami's biggest faller for 2025-26, predicting he will not duplicate last season's efficiency and scoring. Powell's role and starting status remain uncertain alongside Tyler Herro, Bam Adebayo and Andrew Wiggins.
The Miami Heat's biggest splash of the offseason was acquiring veteran wing Norman Powell form the Los Angeles Clippers in a three-team trade earlier this summer. Powell's addition is a fairly seamless fit, especially at the price - which came at the expense of veteran forwards Kevin Love and Kyle Anderson, both fringe rotation players. Though there are questions about his fit alongside one-time All-Star Tyler Herro, who's coming off the best year of his career.
"Career years at age 31 are rare, but it's even less common for a player to sustain such a late-blooming breakout," Hughes wrote. "Powell put up a personal-best 21.8 points on a 61.5 true shooting percentage for the Clippers last season, starting a career-high 60 games and even earning some All-Star consideration. He might still be a solid offensive starter for the Heat, but he's not going to duplicate last season's efforts."
There's no doubt that last season was the best year of Powell's 10-year career. In his first season as a full-time starter since 2021-22, he averaged a career-high 21.8 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.1 assists on 48.4 percent shooting from the floor, 41.8 percent from 3-point range and 80.4 percent from the free-throw line. He was the Clippers' No. 2 option alongside Kawhi Leonard and James Harden. And there is a world where that the case with Herro, Bam Adebayo and Andrew Wiggins.
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