During Pat Riley’s annual end of season press conference, he iterated that availability will be part of the roster decision making moving forward.
The Miami Heat entered the 2025-26 campaign with an intriguing Tyler Herro-Norman Powell backcourt tandem to work with. Unfortunately, Miami never saw the true potential of that duo due to exactly what Riley was speaking about: availability.
It always seemed like whenever Powell was healthy, Herro was sidelined. And whenever Herro was healthy, Powell was sidelined.
The thing that made it so frustrating was that Heat fans didn’t really get to see if that backcourt truly worked or not— considering the sample size was just too little to come to those conclusions. They played in just 21 games together.
During that brief sample size, it looked clunky. The reality is that both Herro and Powell had nearly identical strengths and weaknesses. Seasoned three-level scorers that struggled heavily on the defensive side of the ball. As mentioned, perhaps a larger window to see if they really meshed as a fully healthy Heat core could have led to that duo putting it all together. But that wasn’t the case.
Norman Powell appeared in 58 of the possible 82 games in his lone season with the Heat.
Powell came into Miami off a career year with the LA Clippers in a brilliant offseason trade— one that had the Heat part with just an aging Kevin Love and Kyle Anderson. The deal looked like another historic Pat Riley fleece early on, where Powell filled it up offensively and took on an increased scoring load in the absence of Herro. He began the year at one point averaging nearly 24 points per game.
Most importantly, Powell’s early role led to winning— with a 14-7 record to start the year.
That hot start was enough to earn him his first ever All-Star selection in his age-33 campaign. However, from that point on, it went downhill fast.
Powell averaged just 16.5 points on under 31% shooting from deep post-All-Star break.
The veteran guard ultimately got hit with fatigue and several nagging injuries, mostly a lingering groin issue, that had him in and out of the Heat lineup during their second-half of season playoff push. As unlucky as the timing was, Powell was no where to be found when Miami needed him the most.
Even in the games Powell did play during that end stretch, his shooting touch wasn’t the same. The efficiency dipped. And those struggles led to being delegated to a bench role in favor of Herro, rather than playing alongside him like the team’s vision originally hoped going into the season.
At 33 going onto 34, Powell departed from the Heat to sign a two-year $45 million deal with the Chicago Bulls as an unrestricted free agent. Riley and company reportedly did not attempt to move money around to bring Powell back, as his uneven one-year Heat tenure officially ends with inconsistency and availability concerns.
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- Report: Heat expected to have “fresh conversations” with DeMar DeRozan
- LeBron James chooses 76ers over Heat, signs two-year deal
- Pat Riley discusses Tyler Herro’s Heat exit and repeated trade rumors over the years
- Former LeBron James Heat co-star makes his pitch on where the free agent should sign
- Can the New York Knicks Repeat? The NBA Already Has Next Season’s Odds
Just saw a headline that said Rich Paul has spoken with 27 teams!!!! WTF are they doing with this game? I thought the goal was happiness, fit, and contending? There are certainly not 27 teams that fit that criteria. This is definitely becoming The Decision Part 3. We’ve seen this movie before and ended up screwed after all possible additions were already signed elsewhere. The Heat need to give a deadline, like this weekend, for them to decide or advise we will move on at that time.
I agree. We have a chance but it’s a low percentage chance. If we get one of the few other desirable players still left it will still be okay. If our biggest addition beyond Giannis and Portis is Hardaway Jr., then that’s not okay at all.
Fool me once, shame on you.
Fool me twice, shame on me.
So that means there are only 3 teams he hasn’t spoken with? Let’s guess which ones!
My guess: Sacramento, Utah, and New Orleans
That assumes he’s spoken to the Wizards lol!
to play with his good buddy AD!
Who’s the next FA for the Heat? Beal? Middleton? DeRozan?
no, yes, no..
at this stage take any ,pelle is bench guy
Just looking at last year’s stats, I would take DeRozan out of those three.
I was hoping you were going to suggest someone better lol
I dont really like any of them. Beal played in Washington, which was always a bad team, and continue with phoenix and LAC. After 10 years, he hardly sniff play off. Middleton was a great player, and if healthy, can help a bit, so he makes sense. That for yes.
DeRozan never made it with Toronto. After that he spent years in SA, Chicago and Sacramento. None of those teams were good, when he played there, which says something about the quality of the player too.
I prefer to take a different kind of player. I think Heat could use some toughness at the wing, so I would suggest Simmons or Sochcan on minimums.
I think they need a scoring guard. But I do like Sochan. Not sure which Simmons you’re talking about
generals get ayton have sarr ad trae bunch youngens we didnt get greek we wouldnt even be a playin team,east is def better than west unfort.go east young man go east u here that sm.
So Giannis picked the wrong conference to play in and Miami picked the wrong time to trade it’s future and go for broke?
It’s going to be a dog fight in the East any way you cut it. Todays NBA is a young man’s game. The Heat went from being one of the older teams to one of the younger teams and back to one of the older teams in less than 24 months.
It’s now or never for Miami. If the Heat wins a title or two in the next 2-3 years, the experiment will be considered a success. If the Heat doesn’t win a title and has no up and coming quality young players in the pipeline, it will be considered a complete disaster.
Meanwhile, the Arisons and Riley should be raking in big time profits selling tickets and marketing the team. It’s a win/win for them., even if it isn’t for the fans.
GO HEAT!
right move we were going no where with previous team,if nothing else we know with greek if not this year for next 3-5 years we will have a shot at jewelry
If not jewelry, at least a shot at relevance until Riley retires. After that, who cares?
On the other hand…
We shouldn’t just live for today; we should prepare for tomorrow.
~ Kent Conrad ~
comeon pat we need a scorer/shooter .were not a champ level team w/o norm need demar or at least a beal/ middleton
Miami needs LeBron, Beal, DeRozan or any other quality veteran players it can get. A young quality team with depth is the key to success in today’s NBA. Second choice is a quality veteran team with depth. You can see where this is headed, can’t you?
quality young quality old at this stage we are quality old.w/o greek playin young
Its the “with depth” part I was trying to emphasize.
it only makes sense for lebron to finish in cleve,
Herro becoming like KD with those secondary account and dms.
It’s sad honestly. He’s trying to down people who’s infinitely better than him. And even threw his own former teammate under the bus with that post.
I’m for one glad he’s finally off this team, I’m more excited that the Heat will no longer coddle him like the SS he believes himself to be. He was spoiled here that’s why he’s gonna on his twitter fingers tour. Like he’s not even excited to play for his hometown team says alot
where u been mr positive the speaker of the truth with always a negative twist to it
Disappointed in Herro, if that is true. Some people are just not team players.
He never was. Otherwise, he would have made a serious effort to develop his defensive game rather than focusing entirely on offense. He left the defensive responsibilities to his teammates. That’s why he was an easy target in games that counted.
maybe there but def not on the ct.with dunc and ty gone nobody to pick on until fonzi steps on the ct.
Fontecchio is a better defender than Herro, Uncan or Powell.
hes little slow a foot though.hes got an nba body though which helps
He makes an honest effort to defend. That’s all I ask. Too many offensive players are primadonnas and refuse to expend nearly as much energy and effort on defense as offense.
Stupid new free throw rule. Given the time…Silver gonna screw up the game. First…tighten up the traveling (guys switching pivot feet constantly), pushing off to shoot (SGA is model child), T up guys who bitch incessantly (Draymond especially) and throw them out! What else?
oregoners gotta be happy blazers gonna be good next year
last 3 years cs are 36 6 w/o brown hmmm.oladipo can vouch for that
Hey, Dipo has announced he’s healthy and wants to return to the game.
saw that no thanks rc damaged goods.the joel embid of 2gs.derozan or middleton.more likey middleton joins us.we really dont have a tyler herro jjj player who can get his own shot besides greek
I must commend many of you who are showing the patience of Job on this LeBron decision. Personally, I don’t get it. He and his agent are completely familiar with each team vying for his services. He is aware of the money that each team could offer. He has had time to discuss the matter with every member of his family, as well as every team. Other than drama, what’s the reason for the delay?
the team he wants to go to needs another player.heat gsw has jimmy dont think hes fond of immy..cleve has james he wants know part of him.phily has embid who almost ceertainly wont be good or healthy playoff time.nyk won it all dont need my services.okc spurs to young.hey the best player in the league could use me.maybe denver.he knows which team hes chosen announcement coming tomorrow.july 4th is july 4th dont make it on our 250 bday.
Some players love seeing their names in the news and controlling the narrative. They love creating the anticipation, the drama and the crescendo. They usually have big egos, a sense of self-importance and a constant need for validation.
This! And… He is in a unique situation, being the end of his career. Not uncommon for older vets to sign late in FA. But yeah, anything to be in the spotlight.
I, for one, can do without all the adolescent drama. Decide already so everyone can move on. He’s tying up the free agency process and actually screwing some teams (maybe Miami) by delaying his decision.
maybe hes screwing the heat on purpose?theres no way i think he signs here.
I think Miami is his best option for a ring, especially if the Heat can also sign Beal and DeRozan.
For those who haven’t seen this yet, the league is experimenting with a new free-throw idea starting in summer league. What they are doing is giving a player who is fouled one free throw only. So, if a player is fouled on a three-point shot, he gets one free-throw. If he makes that free-throw, he gets three points. The same idea will apply to all free throws. A two shot foul, one free throw for two points. Miss that free-throw? Tough luck. Personally I really dislike this idea. And then on top of this, in the last two minutes of a half or the last two minutes of the game, it reverts back to the regular rules. All this to save 6-8 minutes per game.
dum fkn rule hope it doesnt pass
I’m totally with you on this one.
jovic mip next year?
I will take the fifth on that
hes got to figure out one thing that can keep him in nba and just focus on it.i suggest practice 1000 3s a day from the corner.greek is a good passer he will find u if your open niko.once u have the ball either shoot it or pass do not dare dribble niko.just become a dunc 3 pt shooter u have a nice stroke.practice makes perfect.his defense is good enough.
It scares me when we start agreeing with each other. Again I totally agree that he should shoot those 1000 3 pointers a day to have one skill to really rely on.
Remember if you take a 5th on the 4th you may not be around on the 6th.
Silver sux.
adam or the commodity
Sounds like someone may be finding his mojo. That could change things.
Nikola Jović today vs. Switzerland in the FIBA World Cup Qualifers:
22 points5 assists2 blocks61% from the field
P.S. Jokic had 22 points, 14 rebounds and 7 assists.
Good to see. Hope these are positive deposits into the confidence vault.
Let’s hope so. It’s FIBA, not the NBA, again, not the NBA. We fell for this already. We can only hope someone else will take on his salary now, but it’s doubtful. His money could really help us.
The Sixers have me worried. I fear that if LeBron goes there, maybe no other bandwagon jumpers will come here for peanuts. The only one who still might is Beal, and maybe Simmons, if he can even be considered an asset. If we had a little more cash, we could build a very competitive team this year.
He looks good, fast, sharp. Still, some emotional behaviour, late on closing.. stuff like that.
I always have a feeling, that he is very close to something good and productive. Maybe a bit of luck, change of attitude, right role would brought him there. The talent is there, no doubt about it.
has been pretty much crape for the most part here especially lately.as long as hes a heater we hope for the best but expect the ——.he cant get to the hoop he cant create space hello 3pt line
I believe in Jovic. I just think he needs the right role. Spo has been casting him in the wrong one. It’s difficult to do something that you aren’t used to. Jovic on the wing will be productive.
He looks good over there because that’s what he is a euro league player not an nba player. Yall keep falling for the okie doke
DeRozan should offset Powell leaving
Carried the Heat in the 1st half of the season, then wore down due to injury post ASB as they were making the playoff push and wasn’t the same level player. His contract has a team option so it’s just a one year, $25m expiring contract this season that can be traded at deadline. Easy decision to take the $25m over a few m from the Heat, hope at deadline to be traded to a contender
norm goes to a team with 0 % chance of winning anything in near future.he stays on my team we pay him 25 next year he takes 15 this year its almost the same $$$.yeah im little mad at him he could have been the final piece for us.if nobody else is pissed then so be it
Miami needs to add LeBron, Beal and DeRozan on vet minimum contracts, to have a leg up on the competition. All the dominoes are in place and on hold while pending Lebron’s decision. Might be a while.
lebrons got lots teams interested in him.derozan would to.beal not as many id be happy to get derozan .one thing about greek hes not a shooter.derozans elbow jumper auto
DeRozan would, but we have a spot open with his name on it, he almost signed here the year he signed in Sacramento, plus legit chance at a title.
Dallas and Warriors have more money. I could see him go to Warriors if they don’t get Lebron.
ssshhh
I still don’t think many nba players are gonna settle for league minimum. We’ll see.
But so far Miami’s league minimum list includes just Simone.
I feel like the Heat did a good job adding a couple 3-and-D wings after the Giannis trade. But they still need a couple guards that can put the ball in the basket. I was hoping for Simons, but now I’m starting to accept that it might be Beal or Middleton
Wow, Simons just signed with Philly for 2-years $12.2M! That’s insane given what Simons’ former team just paid Powell. Plus this is to play behind Maxey, VJ Edgecomb, and Jaylen Brown. Surely playing for the Heat would have personally been a better opportunity for him?
Meanwhile, Philly is looking DANGEROUS!
must be friendly with somebody there
Yeah, who knew he was the one we were closest to in $, but we are saving that $5 for Bron. Clearly he did not want to wait, wanted the extra $2+, plus thinks they have a legit chance. They will be a top 4 regular season team then collapse in playoffs once the Mummy is back in his tomb, wrapped and sealed.
Philly desperately needs shooting and the Heat already have Hardaway Jr in potential 6th man role. Simons can step into a clear 6th man role day 1 in Philly, with a coach in Nurse who plays a short rotation, and try to increase his contract offers in a year. Reason for the move imo
Philly looks like too many cooks in one kitchen. Just sayin’…
Powell did everything he could for us, earning his first half all star bid and tailed off in the second half of last season due to a legitimate nagging injury. Riley couldn’t move money to keep him but I’m sure he wished he could have. I am happy for Powell as he will be an asset for the Bulls.
1 hit wonder good riddance
Is anybody more negative than you? No. The beginning of last season you raved constantly about him. And during this entire off-season you’ve been saying that we have to find some way to keep him. So now it’s good riddance? What is the problem with just saying thank you for a decent season and wishing him well?
Have you ever seen the greatest film in cinema history, Ghostbusters 2? The pink sludge running under the city? It was HFL’s heart lol 😛
Yeah, but I’m the douche? Lol!
i wish him well , hope his family enjoys the 45 million.hes history just like an ex.give it up lets concentrate on our guys.its sports ,i have a great life douche btw
So, if you want to concentrate on our guys, why say good riddance to somebody who is no longer our guy? Douche.
he might have been the diiff jewelry no jewlery.u arent mad little bit i am
I definitely would have liked to see him stay here. But I knew that with all of the salary stuff it was going to be difficult. I’m not angry at him for getting a lot more money, although I’m a little surprised that he would not find a more competitive team to go to.
Bulls could be sneaky play-in good. 😛
All kidding aside, the east seems hard to sort 1-10. I think people will want to put Philly in top 2 with the Knicks right now. That’s my guess as we currently stand. The Lebron move could shift everything for that team.
Rather than good riddance, you should be wishing him good luck. He’s one of the good guys. He did his job and wanted to return. However, Wiggins opting in prevented that.
he aint a heater dont give a f anymore hes not my friend family member .this is sports hes getting paid 45 million to put a ball in a basket.i wish him the best ok .i wish niko would play better.i hope simone can make 40% of his 3s.ditto timmy jr.ok norm go roll some big jamaican joints now
We see things differently. I dont view players as commodities, I view them as people. If I like a player, I wish him only the best. If I don’t, not so much.
I like Norm. He’s not a traitor, he’s just a 33 year old man trying to do the best he can for his family. If you had a choice of a veteran’s minimum pay -OR- $25M for 2 years, which one would you pick?
I thought for a minute you had turned over a new, more positive leaf. I guess I was mistaken. You got the ss you had been dreaming of for years. Enjoy the moment. This is the time for you to be happy.
Good comments. It’s hard for me to not want the best for Norm. We were so lucky to have him for a year. We would have gone something like 36-46 without him. What a great trade that was, getting him for Love and Anderson.
Absolutely!
ok your right but go to a better team i like norm.hesa good guy like 95% of these players.but man it hurt to lose him i took it hard unless we get derozan dont see us winning it this year .this east is def getting tough i got us maybe 4th-6th.a bc of dav pelle is not at champ level.fc is champ level.got to wait til next year most likely. to get fitted
Heat’s wild cards are Jovic, Conwell, Gardner, Hardaway, Larsson and Portis. If 3-4 of them step up, the second unit should be very competitive and productive. That doesn’t include any additional players Miami picks up before the season (e.g., LeBron, Beal, DeRozan, Middleton, Simmons, etc.)
Keyshawn Hall also looks interesting. 6’7″ 250 lb guard. His nickname is Big Guard.”
College stats at Auborn:
19.3 ppg, 7.1 rpg, 2.6 apg, 45.1 fg%, 37.9 3pt%
Norm did his thing here. He was a positive. Can’t blame a man for chasing money. He doesn’t have a lot of years left. I wish him luck, except against us.