When Norman Powell began his Miami Heat tenure last season, he looked like a quality veteran scorer to keep around. Unfortunately, that didn’t end up being the case— as Powell left the Heat as an unrestricted free agent this summer to sign a two-year $44 million deal with the Chicago Bulls.
Miami acquired the 33-year-old guard in the 2025 offseason in a steal of a trade, as they parted ways with just Kevin Love and Kyle Anderson in the deal. In hindsight, they dealt two aging vets that were in and out of the rotation for an All-Star caliber player. And it looked promising early on.
Powell shot his way into his first career All-Star nod after a terrific start to this past 2025-26 campaign in Miami. He was averaging nearly 24 points per game on very efficient shooting numbers up until the All-Star break. However, it was a tale of two halves for his lone year as a Heat— as the injuries and fatigue started to pile up combined with a drastic dip in his shooting numbers that once led him to All-Star status.
That uneven consistency evidently saw the Heat wanting to move on once he hit free agency this summer.
Norman Powell said the Heat didn’t present any offer to bring him back
Powell was looking to cash in on a new contract this offseason, but his price tag was out of Miami’s budget after making the Giannis Antetokounmpo trade. They could have made other moves to free up cap space for a Powell return, but instead opted to just let him walk.
The former Heat guard recently opened up about how it all went down:
“Honestly, I thought I would be going back to Miami throughout the course of the year. We knew they wanted to get Giannis. We heard some rumblings that ‘Norm and Giannis sounds really good.’ So I thought that was the path… but it seemed like they were like, ‘If you want Giannis, you have to take Bobby Portis.’ I think that played a part with the CBA rules and the hard cap with sending out money and receiving money…
They could’ve made moves and done things if they wanted to. Obviously, Wiggins would have had to opt out [of his player option] and take less than his $30M and they would have had to move Niko [Nikola Jović]. But teams are going to do what they want. They didn’t make the moves necessary to do so.”
– Norman Powell (via Mark Medina)
Once these quotes surfaced on social media, the discourse from a lot of Heat twitter questioned Powell’s decision to not take a pay cut to come back to Miami. According to Powell himself, Miami never “came to the table” with any offer whatsoever.
Powell went back and forth with Heat Twitter about his departure
The Heat could have presented Powell some or all of its accessible mid-level exception. But at the time, the front office was pursuing LeBron James— which could’ve impacted their reluctance in offering some of the mid-level to Powell.
There’s been no reports on the Heat’s decision making process with a Powell re-signing ever since he left. But the new Bulls guard iterated across multiple recent twitter exchanges that his departure wasn’t personal, it was strictly business.
Bobby Portis, who Powell essentially labeled as a “throw in” to the Antetokounmpo deal, went back at Powell after his comments circulated around social media.
Had Powell been more open and vocal about a willingness to return to the Heat on a discounted price, he could have been the sharpshooting lineup piece that Miami’s been searching for. Instead, his one-year inconsistent All-Star tenure wound up being a short lived rental.
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Bradley Beal to Clippers
Hopefully Bout30 was happy with Augustin yesterday. 🙂
Today it’s 0-0 in the fourth. It could be said that today is the first meaningful game in the fourteen year history of LoanDePot Stadium.
I’m watching.
This series is won, getting greedy with the sweep. 😉
Like Trader Jack said for the second half of 03, take two of every series and we’ll be right there.
Yes, unfortunately it’s been downhill from the fourth. Ever since Myers got hurt, the starting pitching has been exposed for some of its weak spots.
Still, the team has achieved the goal it set for itself of building a foundation from within to become a solid, close to playoff quality team.
jimenez marsee ruiz sanoja otto caissie gus edwards worst lineup u can throw out there.conine stowers are 2 studs.otto edwards ok.rest are not major leaguers imo.sandy eury reason why there anywhere near 500.
Jimenez should not be on the team. Marsee having a sophomore slump but has been better lately. Only year two, so jury still out. Ruiz is having one of his best seasons. He is a bench bat with speed and has been solid. Sanoja is a bench utility guy. He’s fine. Otto was our All-Star, so guess you are adding him due to his past, but I think the turnaround is real with Otto. Will be a solid player. Caissie is a rookie. You wanted to get rid of JJJ and then loved him, so jury still out on Owen.
otto has fallen off really bad believe he hurt his hand and still may be effecting him but hes prob a 280 hitter.marsee is great defensively but his offense this year has been terrible.owen is big dude but is hurt alot.hes prob a4th ofer.ruiz has been surprisingly good but just a utility type player.with 3 cy young type pitchers they need to add a few bats and they can challenge for a ws imo
did u see what atl did to them they are pretenders not contenders.2 great pitchers and myers has a chance keeps them above water
How about dem Dodgers?
Dem bums since they left Brooklyn
wheres the salary cap in baseball only sport w/o one.it will be a lad nyy ws .once yanks get judge and stanton back theyll be a formidable challenge for your 3 peaters
If they make it past Tampa Bay.
Haywood Highsmith cut. Some team will pick him up.
Unfortunately, we dont need his profile right now.
or better said, we have bigger other needs. I would have him in the team.
I definitely don’t want to sign him. Only acknowledging he is now in the same free agent pool as Gabe Vincent. Former players that will be linked to Heat but don’t end up on the Heat.
If he hadn’t been so passive offensively, he might still be here. He should study what Davion is doing this summer.
powells age and second half fizzle outs cost him being here,if he played 2nd half of season like first half he’d be here.enjoy cold ass winters on non playoff team norm.
No he wouldn’t, they had to move on once the Portis contract came back in the Giannis trade without Jovic going out, just like he said. And he said it’s a business and no hard feelings. No one is going to play for $5m a year after an All-Star year, think what kind of precedent that would set for his coworkers and their ability to earn, and Miami must have known that to not even bother offering him a contract. He got the money he deserved with Chicago plus a possibility to be traded at the deadline to a contender.
a closing lineup of dav wiggy port bam greek aint half bad .i think wigs quick enough to guard guys like edgecome white hart cade bain.i want port in at closing time
Portis is on the team because it was either his or Kuzma’s contract as a condition of the Giannis trade, and the Heat chose the better player, better fit, even with more longterm money owed in Portis. He’s making only $7m less than Powell this year and is owed more guaranteed money than Powell, John Collins etc. He’s a good player but his contract IMO is negative value right now in this CBA. It doesn’t matter that much because he’s a good fit as the third big with Giannis and Bam, but it’s not ideal to have two backup forwards making $30m in Portis and Jovic. But as a condition of getting a MVP player who cares, it’s clearly worth it. It cost them Powell and that was all Powell was explaining IMO.
On GSW Wiggins guarded bigger wings and Oubre the quicker perimeter players, and on Miami it was the same pattern with Wiggins and Larsson last year. Wiggins IMO is more of a 3/4 on defense than a 2/3. The other problem with that supersized lineup is Portis is not a good defender. Maybe it could be a situational lineup against bigger teams, I would be surprised if the closing lineup is not Mitchell-Larsson-Wiggins-Bam-Giannis, those are the 5 best two way players on the team and that 4 man lineup minus Giannis ran opponents off the court last year.
portis is a solid solid vet shot 45 % on 3s.last year hes as strong as an ox he s the new ud enforcer.we shall see where pelles game goes to but right now id much rather have portis closing time than pelle
Wasn’t Haslem a defense first big? Portis is the opposite, he’s all offense and will have to be hidden on defense as much as possible. If his shot isn’t falling he’s giving up too much on defense. And at the end of the game you need stops above all.
gotta see it live his supposed bad d.body types similar.toughness ruggedness same.as ud.closest thing to ud weve had since he retired.
Offensively scoring and rebounding, Portis should prove very valuable. I don’t think Miami wants him in there at crunch time if he doesn’t move well laterally or defend the rim.
Bobby Portis is a very good and productive offensive player, specifically as a high-energy, floor-spacing bench scorer. He is a physical rebounder who averaged 13.7 points and 6.4 rebounds per game, providing elite scoring punch and shooting efficiency for second units.
Bobby Portis is generally considered a below-average to mediocre defender rather than a good one. While he plays with high energy, physical toughness, and rebounds well, he struggles significantly with lateral quickness on the perimeter and lacks elite rim protection ability as a center.
we shall see soon sm.i dont make opinions til i see it myself,game in game out if hes getting blown by by guys with similar size thats a problem ,with smaller guys not so much a problem .lets see pelle switch on a randle kat type player hed get killed.sacrifice little speed for size and strength possibly.we shall see him for 82 games and then we will make our evaluations.
You cant play Bam, Giannis and Portis at the same time. Any combination of two would work.
ive seen the port from a distance never day in day out same as u and stat boy.need to see his game close up more.i know i wouldnt to get on the bad side of him
The playing with an edge/enforcer aspect is definitely a positive that the Heat did lack last year. Gardner had it but was a rookie. But that quality is something you can find at the end of the bench as the 15th man – Haslem in the second half of his career, James Johnson in Indiana etc.
Portis is going to eat up minutes in the regular season – that will be very valuable on a veteran team. You’re hoping he hits enough shots and ends defensive possessions with a rebound to allow the team to stay even and not be outscored with the starting 4/5 off the floor, which Ware could not do last year.
In pick and roll defense the Heat switched the most of almost any team in the NBA last year. How does Portis fit into that? The other team wants to draw him out to the perimeter and get a switch to isolate on him 1 v 1. With the closing lineup of Mitchell-Larsson-Wiggins-Giannis-Bam, you know you have plus defenders at every position and can avoid that with Mitchell and Larsson navigating over picks and switching most picks between Wiggins, Bam, Giannis. The positional size in that lineup is going to be better than many teams in the NBA. Larsson at the 2 guard has the same size as Butler who was often playing 3-4 for the Heat in previous years.
Portis absolutely was a throw-in piece. It’s not like Milwaukee was begging to keep him. I like Portis, but come on now. As for Powell, I would have liked to resign him but with Wiggins opting in, it was unlikely at the number he got from Chicago.
port more than a throwin i bet greek went to pat and said i want a port in miami.we need his toughness.team way to soft lately
Yes, that’s it. It was the price we had to pay to get Gianni’s and go after LeBron. The idea that we could get Wiggins to give up money or that Jovic could be moved were not realistic. There was nothing that could be done.
Portis’ career averages are 12/7/1 and 39% 3p%. At $14.5m average on his current contract, that is absolute value. He has averaged an excellent 72 games per year. If Jovic averaged similar numbers, I’d be totally thrilled. Milwaukee could have easily shipped him elsewhere with no problem. The issue was he’s close to Giannis and Giannis must’ve communicated that he wanted Portis to go to Miami with him. Having him included in the trade made the loss of 4 players a bit more palatable.
never gets lots minutos not sure why .hes one tough strong sob who can shoot it what am i missing why hes not a 30 min guy
I think he’ll get closer to that here.
i really like him as u mentioned it made the greek deal palatable.im just concerned how good ware can be with 30 mins a night. i think hes at worse a 15 12 guy.with 30 mins
I think he will do fine, either starting alongside Turner or primary backup. Turner has a contract with a 15% bonus if traded. I’m surprised they haven’t looked to trade him yet, or maybe there aren’t any takers. They have 2 other options at backup center in Sims and Dieng.
You can take Westbrook off the list of potential FA’s.
I know he was flawed, but he had a solid hof career. Surprised that he decided to retire. Some team would’ve signed him.
If Miami didn’t initiate a conversation with Powell, it is obviously because they did not want him back or couldn’t afford him. He was part of the collateral damage resulting from the Giannis/Portis trade.
Now the Heat is looking for someone with comparable offensive skills at a discounted price. Thus, Riley is holding out to see if Thompson is bought out. Beal, DeRozan and others are apparently back-up options.
russ retired loved watching him what an athlete couldnt shoot it very well 1st ballot hof imo king of triple doubles
Never a dull moment with his flamboyant clothing off the court and dynamic triple double play on the court. Also a great defender, when he wanted to be. Good luck in your retirement Russell.
One of the most overrated players in the league. When his athletism is gone, nothing much left. ,
Hall of Famer any way you cut it.
Most triple doubles career:
#1 Westbrook (209),
#2 Jokic (198)
Most triple double seasons:
#1 Westbrook (4),
#2 Jokic (2)
Most triple doubles in a single season:
#1 Westbrook (42),
#2 Robertson (41),
#3 Westbrook (38)
#4 Westbrook (34),
#4 Jokic (34) twice
Highest PPG in triple double season:
#1 Westbrook
#2 Robertson
#3 Jovic
Last season, at 37 years of age, he still averaged
15.2 PPG
6.7 APG
5.4 RPG