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On Monday, I asked a longtime Eastern Conference scout to offer his perspective on Miami’s place in the East following the addition of Norman Powell. Some feedback: “Let’s start with who’s better. I see six teams for sure: New York, Cleveland, Orlando, Atlanta, Detroit, Milwaukee. Philadelphia is better if they’re healthy. So I would say the Heat’s a solid play-in team, in the same ballpark as Indiana and potentially better than Boston. They’re not 10 or 11; they’re more like 7, 8 or 9. “It’s around a .500 team. If they won 45, it would be a great year. They’re not bad, but they’re not good. Chicago is mediocre; the Heat is maybe a little better than mediocre. They have three very good NBA players with [Bam] Adebayo, [Tyler] Herro and Powell. We’ll see about Ware. Andrew Wiggins is meh at this point.”
What about Powell sharing some of the ball-handling duties with Herro and Adebayo if Mitchell plays off the bench? “Powell is not a handler,” the scout said. “He’s not a secondary ballhandler either, in my view. He is a scorer. He is laser focused on shooting and scoring.”
Norman Powell: I'm really excited about the opportunity that's in front of me. I think it's a clear opportunity that I've been fighting for and talking about. I talked about all last year about being having the opportunity to be a focal point every single night, not as a high value contributing role player, but really seeing myself and stepping into a role that I've always wanted. I was able to do that last year and help carry the team and get us to the playoffs, with the absence of Kawhi for the majority of the season.
For the first time since Norman Powell was traded to the Miami Heat in early July, the veteran guard is in South Florida. But he’s in South Florida as a member of the Jamaican national team. With Jamaica’s men’s basketball team holding training camp at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton to prepare for the FIBA World Cup 2027 Americas pre-qualifiers, Powell has been in South Florida for more than a week. Powell will leave the country on Wednesday to play the first of Jamaica’s three FIBA World Cup 2027 Americas pre-qualifier games in Mexico on Friday against Barbados before facing Costa Rica on Saturday and Mexico on Sunday.
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“It’s been amazing,” Powell, 32, said to the Miami Herald after a recent practice with the Jamaican national team in Boca Raton. “I’ve always looked at my life as full-circle moments. Things that have been talked about and signs and things that you don’t really notice. But then it comes full circle. I was expecting training camp to be in Jamaica, but then I learned that it was in Boca. And then being traded to the Heat, being so close to where I’ll be playing and being able to go down there and go to the facility, look for a place to stay. … It’s definitely cool.”
Now that you’ve had a few weeks to reflect on your move to the Heat, how much are you looking forward to starting this new chapter in your basketball career? Powell: “Honestly, I’m super excited about it. It’s always a shock when you get traded, especially coming off of the year that I had and talking to the front office and it’s all about extensions and things like that. And then you get a little rumbling that it’s a possibility, but not really. And then you get traded. So the shock is always there. But the Heat, they’ve welcomed me with open arms. They’ve talked about how much they’ve wanted me and liked my game throughout the years and they’ve tried to get me. So to come to a place that values you and wants you here and understands what you bring to the table and wants you to be you, you can’t be upset or mad about that at all. I’m very excited about the opportunity, I’m very excited about the group that we have, I’m very excited about what they’re building. I think the Heat culture and what this organization is about is me to a tee. It’s exactly how I am. I’m built on competitiveness, I’m built on working, I’m built on the grind. That’s my motto, understand the grind. That’s my daily approach and I think I’m built for the Heat culture. So I’m really excited to get down and get acclimated and get ready to go.
Now that you bring it up, how was that process of getting No. 24 from Haywood Highsmith after your move to the Heat? Powell: “I’m super thankful for him being willing to do it. Some guys are very particular and don’t want to give up their number. But there was respect on both sides. We were able to negotiate and go back and forth, and come up with something that we felt was fair for each other. He gave me the respect. He said it in a text, ‘You’re the vet and you’ve worn it your whole career, so I’m not trying to disrespect you in any type of way.’ That kind of set the tone and we were able to work something out. So I definitely appreciate him for doing that. It’s something that I did for Luis Scola when I was a rookie and he was coming in and he signed with Toronto. He was No. 4 and I was No. 4 all throughout high school and college, and I gave it up to him. And that gave me the opportunity to wear my favorite player’s number for the first time in my career — No. 24. Now I’ve had that for my whole NBA career. So I’m thankful for him to allow me to continue to rep that number.” I’m assuming getting No. 24 from Haywood cost you a little bit? Powell: “A little something. We’ll keep the amount under wraps. But it’s cool that we were able to work something out.”
“I feel like Norman (Powell) is one of those guys that floats under the radar,” said Adebayo, who turned 28 on July 18 and has already played in three Eastern Conference finals and two NBA Finals. “But as you saw this year, he’s really shown that he can be an All-Star caliber player. You’ve seen what he’s done and you’ve seen him grow in this league. And, obviously, he wants to take the next challenge. Obviously, the next challenge is being with the Miami Heat. So I’m happy to have him.”
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Eduardo Villalpando: Norman Powell will make his debut for the Jamaican National Team during next month’s FIBA window in Mexico, a league source tells me. Jamaica will face Mexico, Barbados, and Costa Rica in World Cup Qualifiers. Suns big man Nick Richards will also join the squad. 🇯🇲
What has James Harden meant to the Drew League? Dino Smiley: “In his earlier years, he meant quite a bit. But the last few years, he doesn’t really come around anymore. He doesn’t really support it as he was at first. That’s why DeMar is what we call ‘the face of the Drew League.’” Even with being him back in LA with the Clippers? Smiley: “No, we had more interaction with Norman Powell. I hated to see Norman go [get traded to Miami]. But that’s okay. That’s his choosing.” How does that register with you? Smiley: “I understand it. But to me, during that lockout season, he really helped us. But I thought we really helped him, too. Before that, summer basketball was just summer basketball. Then we had those mega games against the Goodman League. James was right there. During that time, he wasn’t a starter for OKC. We helped him put him on that pedestal.”
LeBron James trade talk goes quiet, expected to start season with Lakers
Zach Lowe: LeBron's on the Lakers. I've heard it's kind of gotten quiet now after it was the talk of Summer League. There doesn't seem to be like a clean solution either way. Everyone's saying we should expect them to be on the Lakers. That's my expectation. But I agree with you. Like on paper there's a Heat trade that is not crazy for either team. Andrew Wiggins and Norman Powell for unhappy LeBron in January and maybe some sort of pick swap and maybe that's all it is as crazy as that sounds. Lowe: I think for the Lakers Kel’el Ware has got to be in it.
Glushon Sports: We are thrilled to welcome @Norman Powell to the #GSMFamily - Welcome Home #UTG #JobsNotDone
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