Relative to a few of their counterparts in the East, it hasn’t been the most active offseason for the Miami Heat. But one of their moves — acquiring guard Norman Powell from the Los Angeles Clippers in a three-team deal — was seen as an unquestionable win.
Powell, 32, was one of the most ignitable scorers in the NBA last season, having a career season. Recently, on his latest Time Out with Dwyane Wade on the WY Network podcast episode, the Heat great was very keen on the 10-year veteran’s fit with the organization.
Dwyane Wade loves Norman Powell’s fit with the Miami Heat:
Here is Wade’s full quote:
“At this point of [Norman Powell]’s career, (Miami) is the perfect place for him to get to that level that he was on the cusp of,” Wade said on his latest podcast episode. “That All-Star level, being one of the best players. Like he said, once [Paul George] left, it opened up the opportunities more for him and he shined.
“(He’s) just a great competitor out there on the floor. That’s what Miami loves — Miami loves competitors, and Norman Powell is that. That’s another step in the direction that you want to see Miami turn to get this thing back on track.”
Powell averaged a career-high 21.8 points on 41.8 percent shooting from 3-point range, his eighth season shooting better than 39.5 percent from 3-point range. Over the last five seasons, Powell’s been the second-most efficient 3-point shooter at 41.7 percent, trailing only Grayson Allen (min. 1500 3PA).
He’ll also compete on the defensive end of the floor. He’s not necessarily a stopper, but he’ll slide his feet, use his upper body strength to size up and be disruptive with his 6-foot-10 wingspan. He’s not a slouch.
How Powell fares on that end of the floor heading into his mid-30s makes his fit alongside Tyler Herro … interesting. I think it can work, but it’s wait-and-see because Herro’s ceiling is very capped. He’ll get picked on, but Powell has a respectable floor defensively that Herro doesn’t have.
Offensively, Powell is malleable and can fit in pretty much any context — providing a huge boost to a Heat offense that’s placed in the bottom-third each of the last three seasons. To Wade’s point, Powell took a huge step forward as a creator and shotmaker upon Paul George’s departure, helping lead the Clippers to a second-straight 50-win season for the first time since 2016-17.
What are your thoughts on Powell’s fit? Let us know in the comments!
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Top 10 in defense but bottom 3 in offense in last 3 years. Making the playoffs 9x in the last 10 seasons. Or was it 12? Looks better than a lot of other teams but feels mediocre. Thats the feeling when you tasted multiple championships and then comes up short several times. Hoping this great pick up is the start of better moves by Riles and co.
That trade for Powell is a good start. And it was magical. It’s hard to believe it even happened. I keep wondering, where is the catch? But, all it makes us is an average team. The bigger thing it does is signal direction. I think it means, no gap year for us.
I know everyone talks about Riley fleecing the Clippers, but I don’t think that happened at all. I think there was a trade brewing between the Jazz and Heat for what we gave up and Collins. It was a done deal, probably. Then the Clippers got involved and really traded Powell for Collins (which seems a lot more reasonable). This is just my speculation.
No matter how I look at it, getting Powell for Love and Anderson and NO draft picks, is a really great deal!
love and.slow mo for powell wow a steal for us.clips added beal lopez and collins so they have really improved the west is so far superior. the heat could be in the finals with one more good move .u do a wiggins for kuminga trade that would put us in contention.