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The Heat’s biggest move this offseason — up to this point — is its trade for veteran guard Norman Powell, who was among six NBA players who averaged at least 21 points per game while shooting better than 48% from the field and better than 40% from three-point range last regular season. “We know we have to improve,” Spoelstra continued. “We knew we had to do some things this offseason. We know that we have to have a really good training camp, which I think we will. Guys are going to come in prepared. We’ll have a productive August and September. Everybody is motivated. We’ve had plenty of time off. Everybody wants to just gear up and get ready.”
But Wade expanded on that three-word endorsement of Powell this week on the latest episode of his show, “Time Out with Dwyane Wade.” “He’s a great piece, man,” Wade said on his show. “Y’all know how good Norman is. He was an All-Star this year out there in the West. So for the Heat to be able to get a player like that with Bam [Adebayo], with Tyler [Herro] as the No. 1 and No. 2 options, all right. Let’s go.”
It’s also somewhat of a full-circle moment for Wade, who ran into Powell in France during a sports marketing event in mid-June. “We got a chance to just rap on the street real quick, just a little vibe,” Wade said on “The Time Out with Dwyane Wade.” “Then I think I was golfing and I come back and I got a text on my phone and he’s just like, ‘Yo, big bro, I’m on my way. I’m going down to Miami. I can’t wait to put a jersey on.’ And I’m like, ‘Who is this?’” It was Powell reaching out to alert Wade about the news.
The Los Angeles Clippers traded Powell to the Heat just two and a half weeks after their chance encounter. “I know how much of an inspiration that he took from the player that I was,” Wade said. “Being a guy who’s in that 6-foot-3, 6-foot-4 compact, quick, explosive. He’s taken pieces of different people’s game, of course, and he’s given me some love for what he saw that I did that he has utilized in his own game. So it’s cool to have that connection. “It’s a dream for him to put that jersey on because he grew up watching one of his favorite players play in that jersey. So it’s going to be an emotional night for him, I’m sure, when he actually gets out there and actually puts that jersey on. It’s cool.”
Dwyane Wade: Y’all know how good Norman is. He was an All-Star this year out there in the West. And so, for the Heat to be able to get a player like that with Bam with Tyler, as the one-two options, like, all right, great! All right, let's go. Dorell Wright: He's a Heat culture guy. He spoke on that when he got traded and talked about him going to Miami that he's Heat culture. He checks all the boxes. He checks all the boxes for a Heat guy.
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Powell would say that when he heard he had been dealt, there were mixed feelings since it was relayed in his exit meeting that they valued him as a member of the team, even with some interested in acquiring him. The talks of an extension with the Clippers were on the table, but he would get the call he was moving, and when figuring out it was to Miami, there was excitement, citing it as a “childhood dream.” “When I got the call and said I was traded, obviously it’s a shock, because you’re not expecting it,” Powell said. “You just had a career year, and you know, you’d like to believe that you’re going to think you’re going to have some extension talks and things when you’re back, but hearing that it was Miami, I was really excited, like you said, I’ve had a couple guys that I’ve played with play for the team, the organization. They’ve said amazing things about the city, the fans, the organization, and then just thinking back to like my childhood and being a big fan of Dwyane Wade and watching the heat growing up and wanting to play for the Heat organization as one of the teams, is a childhood dream that you want to play for. It’s definitely a cool full-circle moment for me. But, yeah, it was a shock to see that I was traded in here, that I was traded, but I’m excited about the opportunity."
One person who showed their excitement for the move was Wade on social media, which was no doubt a special moment for Powell, who got the chance to speak with him when in Europe for the “Sport Beach” event in Cannes, France. “Taking moves and different things from [Dwyane Wade] and implementing it into my game and talking to him and seeing how he watches my game and knows my game and is proud of me and what I’ve been able to accomplish and that he was a motivating factor in my basketball career,” Powell said. “Literally two weeks later, to be traded to the Heat, and seeing him comment under the post, and was excited about it.”
Norman Powell didn't see trade coming
No, it was not what Powell expected after his season-ending session with Clippers President Lawrence Frank. “Honestly,” Powell, 32, said, “I didn’t know what to think at first. I mean, it’s been a crazy last couple of weeks, just from talking to Lawrence Frank in my exit meeting and what they were telling me.” At the time, the discussion included talk of an extension, a potential three-year, $80.6 million decision that now is in the Heat’s hands, as Powell enters the final season of his contract. “When I got the call and said I was traded, obviously it’s a shock, because you’re not expecting it. You just had a career year,” he said.
That jolt, Powell said, was mitigated by the landing spot. “Hearing that it was Miami, I was really excited,” he said. “And then thinking back to my childhood and being a big fan of Dwyane Wade and watching the Heat growing up and wanting to play for the Heat organization as one of the teams as a childhood dream that you want to play for, it’s definitely a cool, full-circle moment for me.”
Norman Powell: 'I can be an All-Star if given the opportunity'
“I see myself as a key guy, a one, two option that can help carry a team to win,” he said. “I’ve always seen myself as a go-to guy. I don’t have a big ego of ‘I have to be the main guy.’ I want to win.... “I’ve not been shy to say that I’m a starter. I can be an All-Star if given the opportunity. This year, given the opportunity, I showcased that, being in the top 10 of All Star voting and people talking about me being a snub, how I should have made the All Star team. “I’m a versatile player who can play a multiple of roles and excel in any role. Being able to attack the paint will open up opportunities for others. Me and Bam [Adebayo] in the pick and roll can take pressure off guys.”
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“When I got the call and they said I was traded, it was a shock because you’re not expecting it; just had a career year and you would like to believe you’re going to have some extension talks,” said Powell, who’s entering the final year of a contract that will pay him $20.5 million this season.
Which, Powell said with a smile during an introductory media video call, is exactly what he believes he can deliver. “I see myself as a guy who’s obviously plug-and-play,” he said of his ability to already have made it work in stops with the Toronto Raptors, Portland Trail Blazers and Los Angeles Clippers. “But I see myself as a key guy, a one or two option that can help carry a team to win.”
Barry Jackson: Norm Powell spoke with Heat people today and Riley said Heat has wanted him for a while: "Pat likes my little floater I’ve developed over the years. Being able to work on both sides of the floor, me one side, Tyler on the other" is exciting.
Tim Reynolds: Norman Powell was a Dwyane Wade fan growing up -- so playing for the Heat is something he's thought about, he said. And he already says he fits with the culture.
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