Norman Powell says Clippers weren't straight with him

The Los Angeles Clippers discarded Norman Powell for John Collins in a three-team trade that sent him to the Miami Heat, where he’s thriving. LAC signed Bradley Beal, somehow thinking they’d be better set at guard with him, a player who has never done anything significant in the playoffs and is a diminished form of himself. Meanwhile, Powell has changed the Heat’s fortunes this year and will probably get a new deal at some point to his liking.

He opened up to Mark Medina of EssentiallySports about “blown smoke” from the Clippers, regarding them wanting to keep him, and his feelings are justified. Ball players are no different than people at regular jobs who are bothered when management thinks they can get more for paying less, after years of tireless service.

Norman Powell on the Clippers: “Since my exit meeting of last season up until I got traded, they were talking about extension. They were saying how much they wanted me there. They were saying how much they valued me and loved me as a Clipper. Now I feel like it was a lot of blown… https://t.co/HENHeNLYFB pic.twitter.com/0LH3BWzm2t
— Heat Diehards (@HeatDiehards) November 2, 2025

Money talks, and they didn’t want to extend his championship pedigree and exceptional sharpshooting. He missed 22 games in 2024-25, but had the most production of his career on a high efficiency (57.8EFG), stepping up when they wisely didn’t want to keep Paul George.

On top of that, coach Tyronn Lue didn’t realize how good Powell was when he got there, playing him in the mid-20s in minutes multiple years and having him split time with an older, less-effective Russell Westbrook.

Keep in mind that Powell has a career 55.8 effective field goal percentage. Now he’s treasured by the Heat and is showing more to his game in the early season. For example, he’s averaging 7.7 free throw attempts nightly, making 91.3 percent, scoring a couple more points on a higher efficiency and grabbing extra rebounds (7.3).

He’s only played in three of the Heat’s five games because of a right groin strain, but he’ll be back eventually, and so will Tyler Herro at some point. They could potentially be one of the top backcourts in the league, considering how their skills complement each other.

The Clippers did Powell a favor by sending him to a place where he is wanted and a tax haven. The Heat were in desperate need of dynamic scoring and a good locker room presence, and they got it with him. He’s paired with a coach who knows how to maximize his talents, and he continues to be motivated by slights like not making an All-Star team.

At media day, Powell said, “Just for me, it was more personal, showing that I am capable of this… my game can continue to expand and grow given the opportunity.”

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