Mateo’s Hoop Diary: Norman Powell is signing with the Bulls, and how it affects the Heat

Norman Powell had a good season with the Miami Heat, blossoming as a first-time All-Star, and now he is officially signing with the Chicago Bulls on a two-year, $45 million deal, per ESPN. The Bulls have not made the playoffs since 2021-22, but perhaps can be a Play-In team in 2026-27. Nonetheless, they should be fun to watch.

There was interest in keeping Powell even before the team traded for Giannis Antetokounmpo, but he made the financially wise choice of cashing out. At age 33, he may not have more opportunities to do that.

For a good chunk of the first half of 2025-26, Powell was the team’s best player, and working in the fastest offense in the league played to his strengths. He’s a good shooter off the catch and effective on catch-and-go moves, making him a fine piece in any system at either speed.

 His impact lessened towards the end of the season, as he was always dealing with something, but he valiantly pushed through it, even with it being foolish sometimes. His time in Miami mattered because he was a weapon and was the source of offense for a while. He had six games logging at least 30 points and 17 nights with a minimum of four trifectas.

Powell, who is already a champion (2019), will be a valuable addition to a locker room with talented youngsters. In Miami, he also gave financial advice to Kel’el Ware, and he’ll probably do the same for others in Chicago. 

For the Heat, this means that Pelle Larsson is the new likely starter next Davion Mitchell, Andrew Wiggins, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo. Larsson will need to be a threat to hit open 3-pointers so the team can punish opponents when overloading the lane, and needs to keep working on creating his own shot. Notably, in 2025-26, 14.2 percent less of his two-pointers were assisted, and he nearly tripled his assist average (3.4). It would be ideal if that trend continues because the team is short on playmakers outside of Antetokounmpo, Mitchell and Dru Smith.

Tim Hardaway Jr., who the Heat just signed and was third in Sixth Man of the Year voting last season, could be an option to start, but he is a streaky 3-point shooter and an inferior defender to Larsson.  It’s best for the team to have more options in the starting lineup to contain the point-of-attack, and Larsson fits that bill, more so than Powell, too.

Still, it’s too much to expect of Larsson to replace Powell’s production by himself. It will have to be done by committee.