The Miami Heat haven’t been very active in the trade market over the last few summers. But that changed Monday, acquiring guard Norman Powell away from the Los Angeles Clippers in a four-player, three-team trade. It was a pretty shocking move by many, especially since the Heat only sacrificed Kyle Anderson and Kevin Love, two fringe rotation players, for Powell, who was nearly an All-Star last February.
We weren’t the only shocked ones — Powell was, too.
“Honestly, I didn’t know what to think at first,” Powell said, according to Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel. “I mean, it’s been a crazy last couple of weeks, just from talking to Lawrence Frank in my exit meeting and what they were telling me.
“When I got the call and said I was traded, obviously it’s a shock, because you’re not expecting it. You just had a career year.”
Powell spoke to the media for the first time since getting traded on Wednesday. For more on that, click here!
Norman Powell should have a seamless fit with Heat:
It’s not super surprising that he was ultimately traded — he had a career season was entering the last year of his current deal at $20.5 million, which is more than expendable. The Clippers felt the need to adjust their frontcourt spacing and depth by acquiring John Collins, and Powell’s contract — whether right or wrong — was the cleanest way to make that happen.
Powell, 32, was second on the Clippers in scoring last season and was one of the NBA’s best 3-point shooters. He averaged a career-high 21.8 points on 41.8 percent shooting from 3-point range, the third-best mark of his career. He’s had eight seasons shooting 39.0 percent or better from distance and six seasons above 40.0 percent. Over the last five seasons, he’s been the second-most efficient long-range shooter (41.7 percent; min. 1500 3PA).
You get the gist: He’s an explosive shooter.
Though he’s also developed as a multi-level scorer, playmaker (don’t be fooled by the lack of assists) and defender over his 10-year career. He’s malleable and a winning basketball in most any context, even if he’s not in a featured role.
What was your reaction to Powell’s addition? Let us know in the comments!
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Yeah we were surprised too with that caliber of a player traded for KLove and slomo (?!). Not to disrespect both players but c’mon…there has to be some kind of other deals behind it 😉😆
Clippers may have had a commitment from Beal who is expecting to be bought out.