Mateo’s Hoop Diary: Heat front office still has its fastball, bringing in Norman Powell via trade

The Heat wanted an upgrade as the Eastern Conference opened up because of injuries to a few squads and they made a nice splash in the three-team deal with the Clippers and Jazz, bringing in Norman Powell, age 32, and shipping out the vestige of Kevin Love and Kyle Anderson. 

Powell is an athletic two-way player who wants to live at the arc and cup, plus can maneuver on the dribble and roam without the ball. The self-shot creation should help Tyler Herro so he isn’t hounded as fiercely, as 39.9% of Powell’s two-pointers last season were unassisted. One of his valuable assets is his strength, helping him overpower slimmer opponents en route to the cylinder, where he converts 71.8% of tries.

He made 41.8% (7.1 attempts) of catch-and-shoot triples last season and 35% in the playoffs (5.7 attempts). His reliable sniping is added ordnance that will be used plenty on kick-outs from Bam Adebayo and Herro.  Taking advantage of Powell’s body as a screener is one of the ways to set this up.

To boot, Powell drained 179 3-pointers (41.8%) in the last regular season, which was the 29th most and only 11 behind Duncan Robinson (39.3%). The trade now fixes the spacing concerns that Robinson’s departure left. He will probably be guarded the same way, which should be another tool for the two-man game with Adebayo if he can get the ball to him after getting trapped outside for less contested rolls. 

Combining Powell with Andrew Wiggins and Adebayo gives the starting rotation three high-level athletes to work with. The defense was top nine last year, but it should be better in 2025-26, counting on Powell being a good option guarding up top before Davion Mitchell emerges from the bench with suffocating intentions. 

The committee, led by Nick Arison, still has their fastball, bringing a champion (2019) who still has years left of being a quality contributor. If the team can stay lucky and keep their health in 2025-26, they may have a top-six East outfit.