Norman Powell joins Miami Heat with chip on his shoulder

MIAMI – Norman Powell was enjoying his NBA offseason while taking a gondola ride in Venice, Italy, with his girlfriend when suddenly an urgent phone call completely changed the vibe.

After a breakthrough season that garnered NBA All-Star consideration with the Los Angeles Clippers, the shooting guard was traded to the Miami Heat on July 7. Suddl enly, Powell’s plans for the day were ruined. He asked the gondola driver to let them off as his hopes of enjoying more sightseeing and eating gelato and pasta were shelved.

“I’m on one of those little boats and my agent calls me and tells me that I’m being traded to Miami,” Powell told Andscape during Heat Media Day from Kaseya Center on Monday. “I kind of put everything on hold, ended the tour early, [got] off the boat, talked to my agent. Then, [Clippers president] Lawrence Frank calls me and then literally every 10 minutes after that my phone just starts blowing up from text messages and calls from people in the organization.

“My family, I actually FaceTimed them in a group FaceTime and let them know that I just got traded. And nobody believed me for a little bit until they looked up on internet and saw that I was traded. But yeah, I put the whole day that I had planned on hold.”

Powell averaged a career-high 21.8 points and 41.8% shooting from 3-point range last season for the Clippers while, for the first time in his career, starting every game he played in (60). He said he spoke with the Clippers about a contract extension as he neared the final year of his current deal set to make $20.4 million in the 2025-26 season. The Clippers, however, traded Powell to Miami in a three-team deal that sent Utah Jazz forward John Collins to Los Angeles and Miami center Kevin Love, forward Kyle Anderson and a 2027 Clippers second-round pick to the Jazz.

Powell said he thought there was a “two out of 10” chance he could get dealt from the Clippers and he was focused on landing on what he believed was a possible contract extension at that time.

“It was a mix of emotions just because the days prior we were talking about possibly an extension, what that would look like, what I was initially looking for,” Powell said. “I talked to T-Lue [Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue] and told him what I wanted. We’re going back and forth just about what it would look like, what they could do, what they can’t do, and just trying to figure that whole thing out. So then, my agent was talking about ‘some [trade rumor] things are floating around.’ But he didn’t think that there’s anything serious.

“Normally, a guy in his last year of the contract is getting talked about because they are on an expiring contract and teams are interested, especially with the season I just had. [My agent said], ‘If I call you tomorrow, then we’ll know that you’re traded.’ And so, I got that call the next day and, yeah, I was traded. But it was crazy. I just had a little bit of an idea.”

Without Powell, the Clippers are entering training camp in turmoil. The NBA is investigating allegations that the Clippers circumvented the league’s salary cap by funneling money to star forward Kawhi Leonard with a $28 million no-show job through a now-bankrupt company called Aspiration. Clippers owner Steve Ballmer reportedly invested $59 million into Aspiration, which also had a $300 million sponsorship deal with the Clippers for the team’s new arena. Ballmer recently told ESPN that the Clippers have “nothing to hide.”

“I know a lot of people have said, ‘Oh, you got traded. Now you don’t have to deal with everything that just came out,’ ” Powell said. “Yeah, it’s a tough situation over there for them. But I am glad that I don’t have to deal with it. I have had reporters and stuff try to reach out and talk to me. But I just told them, ‘That’s not my situation and I don’t really have a comment on that.’ I’m just focused on what’s in front of me and the opportunity that I have being here with the Heat.”

The Heat lost one of the NBA’s best shooting guards when they dealt Jimmy Butler to the Golden State Warriors on Feb. 5. Powell is expected to fill Butler’s shoes while also lessening the impact of the temporary loss of injured Heat guard Tyler Herro, who is expected to miss the beginning of the season after having left ankle surgery on Sept. 19. Powell’s professionalism, two-way ability and toughness are expected to fit in with the renowned “Heat Culture.” Powell also adds championship experience, having won an NBA title with the Toronto Raptors in 2019. He also enters this season as the Heat’s oldest player at 32.

Powell grew up a fan of the Heat, most notably their former star Dwyane Wade, who he talked to in France just weeks before the trade and whose locker he’s using at Kaseya Center. Longtime Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra and veteran center Bam Adebayo were ecstatic to add Powell to their roster.

“He can do it in a variety of ways that makes sense for our team and our roster,” Spoelstra said during his media day news conference. “He can do it on the ball; he can do it off the ball. He’s played a lot of different roles with the teams that he’s played on, and he’s been able to be efficient in all the different roles. But I think it always comes down to the right type of fit first and you have to be like-minded in your approach of how you view the game and how you view trying to compete to win.

“He’s won a championship before. He’s been part of a lot of winning teams. He takes it very seriously. He’s a competitive dude. We like that he’s got an edge to him and his work ethic is tremendous. So, there’s a lot of things that we think fit how we approach the game. He’s excited to be here. And with Tyler out, yes, it helps to have that.”

Said Adebayo on Powell to Andscape: “[He’s] a guy who I feel like was a snub for All-Star in a sense. I feel like we all know it.”

Adebayo also said Powell is arriving in Miami with a “chip on his shoulder” after being snubbed as an All-Star last season. Becoming a first-time NBA All-Star is a big goal for Powell. Ironically, the 2026 NBA All-Star Game is in the Clippers’ new home arena, the Intuit Dome, which is added motivation for Powell.

“I definitely have a chip from feeling like I could have made it,” Powell said. “I should have made it last [season]. It added fuel to the fire this summer on how I am going to capitalize on this [season], that I have to make sure that I’m a surefire pick for an All-Star selection. Finding out that it is in L.A. would definitely be a little punch there to make it. To play All-Star Weekend in Intuit would be amazing. But yeah, I’m definitely excited about the opportunity to go at it again and have a chance to finally get selected.”

While Powell has yet to be named an NBA All-Star, he does feel widely respected as one by his peers after his play last season.

“I definitely have seen and felt the shift and people knowing, talking about my game, talking about what I bring to the table,” he said. “The expectations are definitely more than it has been in the previous years after being an established player. People have eyes on how I’m going to respond and come out this season, so I’m definitely excited about it. I’ve prepared for it physically and mentally to be able to step into this opportunity that’s in front of me being a leader, being the oldest guy on the team, which is weird to say.”

Adebayo told Andscape “people [are] going to call us crazy, but I think we’re a contender” in the wide-open Eastern Conference. When healthy, the Heat’s potential starting five includes Powell, Herro, Adebayo, veteran forward Andrew Wiggins and young center Kel’el Ware.

Powell believes today’s Heat should be “feared” entering this upcoming season.

“We can be really good. One thing that people don’t understand or see is that you don’t need a generational superstar or talent to be good to go and win a championship and have a deep playoff run,” Powell said. “[You can have a deep playoff run] Having a well-rounded team with experience with star players, which we have in Bam and Tyler – and I see myself as well as a budding star even though I’m 32 now. But [it helps] having that experience with Wiggins, guys that have won championships and know what it takes to be successful.

“We have a great team built around guys who have an opportunity to step up and play bigger roles. And [we have] a team that’s hungry and ready to compete, ready to go after it and prove people wrong. We have the DNA to be a team to be feared going into the season.”

According to the 2020 U.S. Census, more than 1 million people of Jamaican descent lived in the United States, with most living in New York City, followed by Miami, according to EBSCO, a leading provider of research databases.

Powell said his father, Norman Powell Sr., is from Kingston, Jamaica. Powell played for the Jamaica senior men’s basketball team this past summer, and he was embraced in Toronto during the offseason for his Jamaican heritage. He has joined forces with the Bob Marley Foundation via initiatives advancing basketball through the Jamaica Basketball Association’s youth programs. Powell hopes to soon connect with the Jamaican community in Miami and perhaps enjoy some goat, rice and peas, and plantains at a local restaurant.

“I’ve been around the city and people have come up to me from playing with the national team and being so close,” Powell said. “People are giving me their respect and love for playing and competing and helping the team move to the next round. But I’m definitely excited to actually get my feet on the ground once the season gets going, I get fully settled to try some good Jamaican food. I got recommended Jamaican Kitchen, so I’m going to check that out once training camp is over and I’m here. But I’m excited. …

“I’ve been to Jamaica three, four times just visiting, trying to figure out where my family comes from. My dad is from Kingston, so now that I know now and have a little bit more guidance, I’m definitely looking forward to getting over there after the season since we’re so close and spending some more time down there, doing some more community outreach there and setting up some programs.”