Miami Heat Need Norman Powell to Overcome Shock After Trade Out of L.A.

The Miami Heat’s first participation in a 2025 offseason trade delivered a home run. High-fives and pats on the back were undoubtedly exchanged when the team completed a move that pried Norman Powell away from the L.A. Clippers in a three-team deal that also involved the Utah Jazz. It’s also likely that Powell’s reaction to being dealt was one marred by disgust.

It would be hyperbole to say Miami is no longer a place NBA players want to be, but its situation is much different than it was a decade ago. The Heat are no longer a league power, or even a perennial Finals contender, as was the case a few years back. Miami is a fun place to play, but no longer a destination city.

Because of this, it’s tough to imagine Powell being thrilled by having to play clear across the country when he was working happily in his backyard. The 32-year-old San Diego native who attended UCLA was just moved by a Clippers franchise he loved playing for that’s closer to competing for titles than the Heat.

You read that right. Players, particularly those from California, would prefer playing for the Clippers over the Heat.

Powell was an All-Star snub just a few months ago. He averaged career-bests in points (21.8) and steals (1.2) for the Western Conference’s No. 5 seed and was a crowd favorite at the brand new Intuit Dome. In a perfect world, he’d have preferred to finish his career with the Clippers. Keep that in mind regardless of what gets said at his introductory Miami press conference, because he’s being uprooted out of a situation he adored.

Basketball is a business, and the Clippers cast aside loyalty to jump at the chance to land another quality big in John Collins. The Jazz were similarly thrilled about creating a monster trade exception, so the Heat were able to add a potential difference-maker entering a contract year with it only costing them Kevin Love and Kyle Anderson.

Both veteran forwards were great teammates, but neither would have had the impact that Powell will yield if he stays healthy and driven to earn himself one last big payday. The 32-year-old wing should be fully healthy after wearing down due to knee and hamstring issues that contributed to his performance dipping down the stretch, but he still averaged 16 points and shot 35 percent from 3-point range in a seven-game first-round loss to the Denver Nuggets.

Powell now projects as a primary wing scorer alongside Tyler Herro and Davion Mitchell, who are expected to be Miami’s primary ball handlers. Neither is the playmaker that James Harden is, so Powell won’t have as many open looks, but he became a much more efficient scorer with the Clippers and Trail Blazers than he was in his early days with the Toronto Raptors.

Part of the 2018-19 surprise NBA champions, Powell is back in the Eastern Conference and should be inspired after some initial dejection over being shipped out by L.A. Vets with 10 seasons of experience know only a handful of guys can truly dictate where they play, and there are certainly worse situations to be traded to than Miami.

Powell became extension-eligible this month, but has missed at least 20 games in three of the last four seasons and has played the most games (76) when he’s been deployed as a top reserve. It remains to be seen how to best utilize him going forward, but he and Miami are best served by making this work for at least a season.

With the Heat likely still weighing opportunities to move Andrew Wiggins and younger options like Haywood Highsmith and Jaime Jaquez Jr. on board vying for minutes, head coach Erik Spoelstra should have healthy competition on the wing.

Miami definitely got better on July’s first Monday. Once Powell gets over any ill feelings, he’ll realize he has no choice but to make the best of this new challenge. In many ways, he fits right in with a Heat franchise trying to readjust on the fly.

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