Inside The Heat

Miami Heat Star To Make FIBA Debut With Jamaica Basketball In August

Alex Toledo|
Apr 28, 2025; Miami, Florida, USA; Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra looks on from the sideline against the Cleveland Cavaliers in the fourth quarter during game four for the first round of the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Kaseya Center. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images
Apr 28, 2025; Miami, Florida, USA; Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra looks on from the sideline against the Cleveland Cavaliers in the fourth quarter during game four for the first round of the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Kaseya Center. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

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Miami Heat

The Jamaican national basketball team will feature some new faces in the FIBA World Cup pre-qualifiers later this summer. The most prominent of those being the Miami Heat's latest trade acquisition, Norman Powell.

The 10-year veteran, who the Heat traded for earlier this summer, makes his debut on the international stage after a career season. Last season he average 21.8 points for the 50-32 Los Angeles Clippers.

Team Jamaica plays on Aug. 8, 9 and 10 as part of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027 Americas Pre-Qualifiers. They will need two finish as the one of the top two (of four) in their group in order to advance to the qualifiers, which run from November through February of 2027 (through six different windows of competition).

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Longtime ESPN Writer Gives Miami Heat Top-Five Offseason Grade

Despite not being willing to offer more in a trade to secure all-time talent Kevin Durant, most believe the Miami Heat had a positive offseason overall. Veteran ESPN contributor Kevin Pelton put out his annual offseason grades, where he gave the Heat a B+ for their offseason moves.

"It was an opportunistic offseason for the Heat, who took advantage of the money saved by swapping Duncan Robinson for Simone Fontecchio to convert players on the fringes of their rotation into Norman Powell, who scored 21.8 points per game for the Clippers last season," Pelton said. "Powell helps replace some of the scoring lost with Jimmy Butler's February departure and keeps Miami's books clear -- for now -- as the team eyes 2027 cap space."

The B+ grade was tied with two other teams, (Los Angeles Clippers and Oklahoma City Thunder), for the fourth best offseason grade that Pelton gave. Ahead of the Heat were the Denver Nuggets, Atlanta Hawks and Houston Rockets.

Although the Heat didn't necessarily clear cap space with the Powell and Fontecchio trades, it didn't hurt them in that aspect either way, which is a positive for a team trying to be as competitive as possible. Not to mention, the Heat also added a consensus lottery talent in Kasparas Jakućionis with their No. 20 pick.

Trading a back-end rotation player and a guy who was not going to play this season for a player who nearly made the All-Star team last season is undoubtedly a step in the direction of getting more wins. Although Duncan Robinson has historically been a better shooter and player than Fontecchio, it seems the relationship was headed for an ending regardless.

So for the Heat, getting back a playable shooter with wing size is nice, but the move also saved them around $11 million against the luxury tax as opposed to the alternative, where Robinson picked up his $20 million option for next season.

The Robinson-for-Fontecchio swap made the Powell move, (where they added about $6.7 million in payroll), much more feasible for their tax goals. As of this point, they have the entire season to get under the luxury tax threshold, where they now stand $1.63 million above, with 14 of 15 roster spots filled.

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Alex Toledo
ALEX TOLEDO

Alex, who was born in Miami, is also a producer, co-host and reporter for the Five on the Floor podcast. He has covered the Heat and NBA since 2019 as a season credential holder. He studied journalism at Florida International University.