Norman Powell

Extension Rumors: Herro, Heat, Porzingis, Daniels, M. Robinson

October 17th, 2025 at 11:34am CST by Luke Adams

Although All-Star guard Tyler Herro has expressed interest in signing a contract extension with the Heat before the regular season begins, there haven’t been substantive discussions to this point, according to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, who hears from sources that a preseason deal is doubtful.

Because Herro has two guaranteed seasons left on his current contract, he wouldn’t be eligible to sign an extension during the season. If he and Heat don’t work out an agreement on or before Monday, his next window to sign a new deal would be during the 2026 offseason.

Norman Powell and Andrew Wiggins are also extension-eligible, but a long-term deal for either player appears unlikely in the short term, Windhorst writes.

As ESPN’s Tim Bontemps observes within the same story, the Heat are one of a handful of teams looking to maximize their cap flexibility for the summer of 2027, which is when several stars – including Nikola Jokic, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Donovan Mitchell – are currently projected to reach free agency. That doesn’t necessarily mean a player like Herro or Powell won’t sign an extension sooner or later, but Miami may be reluctant to sacrifice 2027 cap room until they have “good reason” to, Bontemps explains.

Here are a few more notes and rumors on potential extension candidates:

There’s mutual interest between the Hawks and Kristaps Porzingis in a new contract, but the two sides are comfortable waiting to see how the season plays out, says Windhorst. That lines up with recent public comments from Porzingis on the subject. Both Porzingis and Trae Young are expected to have to wait on potential extensions, though Young would ideally like to replace his $49MM player option for 2026/27 with a lucrative new deal sooner or later, per Windhorst.
The Hawks are negotiating with rookie scale extension candidate Dyson Daniels ahead of Monday’s deadline, Bontemps confirms. ESPN’s Bobby Marks suggested earlier this week that Daniels’ agent, Daniel Moldovan, is using Jalen Suggs‘ five-year, $150MM as the key point of comparison for his client. Daniels’ teammate Jalen Johnson signed an identical extension last fall.
The Knicks and Mitchell Robinson have spoken about a possible extension, but haven’t gained any real traction, sources tell Windhorst. According to Windhorst, there’s also no urgency for the Knicks and Karl-Anthony Towns to work out a new contract — he’s extension-eligible, but has two guaranteed years and a player option left on his current deal.
Marks and Bontemps took a closer look at several of the remaining rookie scale extension candidates, speculating about what fair contracts might look like and predicting which ones will get done.

Heat Notes: Powell, Jovic, Ware, Johnson

October 7th, 2025 at 12:43pm CST by Luke Adams

Before he was traded from the Clippers to the Heat this summer, Norman Powell had begun having conversations with L.A. about a possible contract extension, he tells Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel (subscription required).

“To be transparent, we were talking extension and what it would look like, and they were telling me they didn’t want to trade me, they wanted me there — all that good stuff,” Powell said. “But they inevitably ended up trading me.”

A report last month indicated that the Heat are open to discussing an extension with Powell, who is entering the final year of his current contract. However, that report suggested any deal would likely happen during the season, once the club had more time to assess his fit on the roster. For his part, the 32-year-old guard says he’s thinking about “basketball” rather than his contract situation, as Winderman relays.

“I’m just focused on what I have to do for this team, and I know if I go out there and perform, you’re going to be rewarded,” Powell said. “I feel like I’ve been performing every single year and my trajectory is just focused on getting better and how I can improve, and the payday will come.”

If Powell can carry over performances like Monday’s into the regular season, it would bode well for his future earnings. In just 16 minutes of action in Miami’s preseason matchup with Milwaukee, he racked up 18 points, making 6-of-12 shots from the floor, including 3-of-6 from beyond the arc.

“You can see his ignitability.” Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra said after the game, according to Winderman. “I like what he can do on the drive. He can really get hot from three. Guys were finding him. I think we can definitely build on that.”

Here’s more on the Heat:

Nikola Jovic‘s four-year rookie scale extension with the Heat starts at $16,200,000 in 2026/27 before dipping to $14,904,000 in ’27/28, Hoops Rumors has confirmed. The third year of the deal is worth $15,096,000 and then it rises back up to $16,200,000 in year four (’29/30). The structure will give the team some added cap flexibility during the 2027 and 2028 offseasons and suggests that creating cap room in 2026 probably isn’t a goal.
Jovic got a second consecutive start in Monday’s preseason game against the Bucks, while center Kel’el Ware, who finished last season as a starter, has yet to play alongside Bam Adebayo this month, notes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald.
Ware put up big numbers off the bench against Milwaukee, scoring 18 points and grabbing 13 rebounds, but he turned the ball over four times and was a -21 on the night. After the game, Spoelstra was more focused on the latter numbers. “I think everybody is looking at the wrong thing,” he said of Ware’s double-double, per Chiang. “It’s got to impact the game. I want him the next game to be a plus-20. That’s what it’s about. … It does not matter if you have 18 and 13 if it’s not impacting the game. … That’s part of being a young player, and that’s why I enjoy coaching him because my responsibility is to help teach him how to connect the dots and become more consistent where it now leads to winning.”
The Heat raised eyebrows early in the offseason when they picked up Keshad Johnson‘s guaranteed team option for 2025/26 after he logged just 98 total minutes as a rookie. Now, Johnson says he’s determined to reward the club for its faith in him, as Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald writes. “That shows they were [willing to] bet on me,” Johnson said. “If they bet on me, I’ve got to prove them right.” Johnson added that he’s willing to play either on the wing or in the frontcourt, depending on what the coaching staff asks of him. “Whether I’m undersized or not, I can compete with anybody,” the 6’6″ forward said of potentially playing in the frontcourt.

Players Seeking Paydays This Season

October 5th, 2025 at 5:03pm CST by Eli Cohen

While some players are still hoping to finalize rookie scale extensions before the season begins, the majority of contract situations around the league have been settled at this point. But business never sleeps in the world of the NBA, and many players will enter this season hoping to impress executives and land their next big payday.

Zach Harper of The Athletic details the top names playing for new deals this season, excluding the aforementioned rookie scale extension seekers.

One player not on a rookie-scale deal but still extension-eligible is Michael Porter Jr., whom the Nets recently acquired to add some scoring pop to the starting lineup. Porter’s deal runs for two more seasons and will pay him $38.3MM this year and $40.8MM in 2026/27.

The Nets’ roster remains a major work in progress, making future projections tricky, but at just 27 years old, Porter is in position to have a big year in Brooklyn and boost his stock entering a contract year next summer. The biggest question, according to Harper, is whether Porter’s next deal would remain in the range of the $40MM+ he’ll earn in 2026/27 or if he would take a modest pay cut to secure a longer-term contract.

Harper takes a look at three big men who could hit the open market next summer: Kristaps Porzingis, the Hawks‘ new starting center, longtime Bulls veteran Nikola Vucevic, and the Knicks‘ on-and-off starter Mitchell Robinson. All three have question marks surrounding them — for Porzingis and Robinson, those questions center around health, though Robinson could also be a cap casualty on New York’s increasingly pricey roster.

Vucevic has been in trade rumors for years, and with the Bulls taking more steps to embrace a youth movement than they have in the past, his time in Chicago could be coming to an end. Harper predicts an annual value of around $21MM for Vucevic on his next deal, which is about what he’ll earn in 2025/26.

Another group of players Harper looks at is a trio of high-scoring guards who will be free agents in 2026: Anfernee Simons and Norman Powell, who were acquired this summer by the Celtics and Heat, respectively, and Coby White, who has grown into a talented combo guard over his six seasons with the Bulls. Harper predicts a deal around $20MM annually for Simons, $75MM over three years for White, and a two-year, $50MM contract for Powell.

The 2026 free agency class will also be impacted by the decisions made by veterans with player options, such as Zach LaVine (Kings), Bradley Beal (Clippers), and Austin Reaves (Lakers). Cam Thomas (Nets) and Quentin Grimes (Sixers) will also reach unrestricted free agency after accepting their respective qualifying offers and will be looking to recoup the money they passed on this offseason.

Finally, Harper singles out four role players who could be coveted next season, depending on their performance this season: Rui Hachimura (Lakers), Tyus Jones (Magic), Keon Ellis (Kings), and Georges Niang (Jazz). The 25-year-old Ellis has broken out over the last two seasons and could command his first real payday of his career if he has a strong season off the bench in Sacramento. Harper speculates he could be in line for a deal similar to the three-year, $27.6MM contract Ty Jerome signed with the Grizzlies this summer.

Heat Notes: Powell, Achiuwa, Rozier, Smith, Scouts

September 30th, 2025 at 10:45pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Forward Norman Powell had the best season of his career with the Clippers, but wasn’t selected for the All-Star Game. Traded to the Heat during the offseason, Powell enters this season with extra motivation, he told Marc J. Spears of Andscape.

“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.”

We have more on the Heat:

Terry Rozier had the worst season of his career last year and fell out of the rotation. The veteran guard, who has one year left on his contract, comes into this season with something to prove. “I don’t know (why things went sour),” he told Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. “I was being a human. I’m glad I can still play basketball and do what I love and ready for a turnaround this season.”
Dru Smith has endured major injuries during his career, most recently an Achilles tear. Yet he was re-signed in the offseason, in part because of the resiliency he’s shown, Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald writes. “What he has is a superpower. I wish you could take some of that and just apply it to other players,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said when asked about Smith’s participation in practice less than a year after tearing his Achilles. “When I say superpower or superpowers, it’s a level of grit, it’s a level of fortitude, perseverance. However, you want to describe it, he has no quit in him.”
Big man Precious Achiuwa signed as a free agent on a one-year contract and indicated that familiarity played a role, Miami Heat Spain tweets. He played with Miami during his rookie season. “It was a pretty easy decision because of how well this organization represents the type of player that I am. I also took into account the high competitive level of Spo, I want to forge myself around that,” he said.
A couple of unnamed scouts gave their evaluations of Achiuwa and the Heat’s young players to Jackson, including whether Achiuwa was a better option than some of the other free agent big men the front office looked at.

Clippers Notes: Ballmer, Aspiration, Frank, Kawhi, Beal, Collins

September 29th, 2025 at 4:00pm CST by Rory Maher

Through his philanthropic arm, the Ballmer Group, Clippers owner Steve Ballmer donated $1.875MM to the Golden State Opportunity Foundation, a charity whose founder is disgraced former Aspiration co-founder Joe Sanberg, Pablo Torre reported Monday on his Pablo Torre Finds Out podcast (YouTube link).

Ballmer’s donation came in December 2024, more than a year-and-a-half after the Clippers ended their contract with Aspiration, and nearly a year after it was publicly reported that the now-bankrupt “green bank” company was under federal investigation, Torre observes. It also came a couple months after Sanberg’s co-conspirator was arrested.

It’s the latest update in an ongoing investigation from Torre, other members of the media, and the NBA, which hired a law firm to determine whether the Clippers and Kawhi Leonard circumvented the salary cap through their deals with Aspiration.

In a public statement on Monday, president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank reiterated the Clippers “welcome” the league’s investigation and denied the accusations (Twitter video link via Joey Linn of SI.com).

“We feel confident we are on the right side of this,” Frank said in part.

For his part, Kawhi Leonard denied any wrongdoing and said the investigation wouldn’t be a distraction during the season (Twitter links via Law Murray of The Athletic). Leonard mentioned “conspiracies” multiple times, according to Murray.

“This is old… we already knew this was going to happen,” Leonard said.

Here’s more from the Clippers’ media day:

Bradley Beal had arthroscopic surgery sometime after the season ended, tweets Murray. Beal said he was playing through right knee inflammation last season with Phoenix and had the knee scoped, which helped, as he’s feeling “good” and “ready to go” now. However, the team said he would be a limited training camp participant, according to Murray, who adds (via Twitter) that Bogdan Bogdanovic (torn hamstring) will also be a limited participant. Leonard is considered healthy and a full participant.
Beal, who signed a two-year deal (second year player option) with the Clippers after being bought out by the Suns, says he loves living in Los Angeles and has talked with Frank about potentially ending his career with the team (Twitter links via Murray). The three-time All-Star knows he won’t be a primary scoring option for the Clippers and is welcoming the challenge of taking on tough defensive assignments.
Head coach Tyronn Lue views offseason acquisition John Collins as a power forward who can play some backup center at times, per Murray (Twitter link). The Clippers landed Collins in the three-team trade that sent Norman Powell to Miami. The 28-year-old big man will earn $26.58MM this season before hitting free agency next summer.

Heat Notes: Herro, Jovic, Smith, Powell, Ware, Rozier

September 29th, 2025 at 10:48am CST by Dana Gauruder

Heat guard Tyler Herro suggested on Monday that his return from ankle surgery could take longer than initial projections, according to Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel. Herro underwent surgery this month to alleviate posterior impingement syndrome in his left ankle with the expectation he’d miss about eight weeks.

Herro, who said he couldn’t even jump due to the ankle pain prior to surgery, said the rehab process could go a little longer.

“I’ll be back in the next eight to 12 weeks,” Herro said. “Should be a full recovery. Right now, I’m ahead of schedule as far as the swelling. I should get the stitches out in the next week.”

However, Herro told coach Erik Spoelstra that he’ll try to return on a more accelerated timetable.

“I told Spo that I’ll be back in six weeks,” Herro said. “I’m ahead of schedule.”

Here’s more from the Heat during their annual media day:

Nikola Jovic is one of the Heat players who is extension-eligible this preseason with an Oct. 20 deadline. He downplayed extension talks on Monday, Winderman tweets. Winderman speculated last week that a contract in the range of $50-60MM over four years could appeal to both sides. Jovic added that he hopes to get a chance to earn a starting job during training camp, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald tweets.
Dru Smith, who was signed to a three-year deal in August, said he’s been cleared to play in preseason games, according to Jackson. Smith suffered an Achilles tear in December.
The addition of veteran forward and proven scorer Norman Powell via trade in July came as a pleasant surprise to Spoelstra, according to Jackson and Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald. “We’re excited to have Norm with us, his ability to put the ball in the basket. He can do it on the ball, can do it off the ball,” the coach said. “He’s been able to be efficient in a lot of different roles. He’s been part of a lot of winning teams. He’s a competitive dude, has got an edge to him. His work ethic is tremendous. We will thrilled [to get him]. There were a lot of things we planned to do this summer; that one was a little bit of a surprise.”
Second-year big man Kel’el Ware won’t be handed the starting center job. “He and Bam (Adebayo) had some good moments together. In the playoffs, it wasn’t good,” Spoelstra said. “He’s positioning himself for an important role. He’ll have to prove it; he will have to earn it.”
Terry Rozier, whose status with the team this season remains up in the air, has been preparing for the season in Miami, according to Spoelstra. “Terry has been in the gym since the middle of July,” he said. “He is in great shape, lost 10, 12 pounds. He was playing pickup anywhere he could in Miami [this summer].”
Rozier said the FBI investigation regarding suspicious bets when he played for Charlotte weighed on him initially, but is no longer a concern, according to Jackson (Twitter link). He declined to say what his attorney has told him about where that investigation stands. The NBA found no wrongdoing in its own investigation.

Southeast Notes: Wizards, Beverley, Young, Achiuwa, Herro

September 25th, 2025 at 8:37am CST by Dana Gauruder

The Wizards’ expectations for the upcoming season remain modest. It’s all about player development and growth, not wins.

“Roster-wise, we’re still in the early stages of the rebuild,” general manager Will Dawkins told the media on Wednesday, per Chase Hughes of Monumental Sports Network (Twitter link). “This offseason we decided to lean into the youth movement more… we like the unpredictability and the competition it’s going to bring.”

Washington is coming off an 18-64 season and it’s going to be a slow climb to get back to respectability. The Wizards will have to convey their first-round pick to the Knicks if it falls out of the top eight, giving them even more incentive to keep their win total low.

“We will not skip steps,” Dawkins said, per Varun Shankar of the Washington Post. “We will not take shortcuts.”

The Wizards have 13 players under the age of 25 and they’ll battle for playing time.

“We do not have the same level of experience or established players as we’ve had in the previous [seasons], which is fine,” Dawkins said. “We do, however, have depth. And I know we like the unpredictability and the competition that we think it’s going to breed. So for us, we view the upcoming season as a season of opportunity.”

Here’s more from the Southeast Division:

Former NBA guard Patrick Beverley ripped Hawks star guard Trae Young on a podcast, stating “I’ve talked to people who played in Atlanta. They don’t wanna play there. Why? They don’t think he’s a good leader. They don’t think he’s a good teammate. You can make all the money you want. You can have all the leading assists you want. You can do all that. If you don’t win, that s— won’t matter. If you don’t win, when you retire they’re gonna forget your name.” Young offered this response, per The Athletic’s John Hollinger: “You don’t know what it’s like to be in my position, you don’t know what it’s like to put my shoes on. The numbers generate the way they do. But I promise you — there’s not a selfish bone in my body.”
Precious Achiuwa agreed to a one-year contract with the Heat. It’s a non-guaranteed deal and comes with a $2.3MM cap hit not becoming fully guaranteed until Jan. 10. The addition of Achiuwa adds some much-needed size to the Heat’s roster, joining Bam Adebayo and Kel’el Ware as the only centers on Miami’s standard roster, Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald notes. At least in the short term, the move does not have an impact regarding Terry Rozier, Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel tweets. Rozier is guaranteed $24.9MM this season on his $26.6MM salary — waiving him would bring Miami under the luxury tax.
Tyler Herro will not be ready for the start of the season after undergoing ankle surgery. How will the Heat replace him in the short term? Davion Mitchell will likely move into the starting lineup alongside offseason acquisition Norman Powell, who figures to have a prominent role offensively with Herro sidelined, according to Chiang. Pelle Larsson could see more minutes and even Rozier could force his way into the mix with a strong training camp.

Heat Extension Notes: Herro, Jovic, Powell

September 21st, 2025 at 10:00pm CST by Eli Cohen

The Heat are operating in something of a middle ground from a competitive standpoint in their first full season of the post-Jimmy Butler era. They were able to land Norman Powell via trade while sending out Kevin Love and Kyle Anderson, who were unlikely to play major roles for the team, but have otherwise had a relatively quiet offseason.

However, there are still some big decisions to be made, as Ira Winderman explores for the South Florida Sun Sentinel (subscriber link). Tyler Herro, who recently underwent ankle surgery, is extension-eligible, as are Powell and Nikola Jovic.

As Winderman writes, the window for the Heat and Herro to come to an agreement will be open for less than three weeks, from October 1-20. The 25-year-old, who is under contract through 2026/27, is coming off his first All-Star selection after averaging a career-highs of 23.9 points and 5.5 assists while playing a career-best 77 games.

A maximum extension for Herro would come out to three years and $149.8MM. While Herro has been a productive, hard-working player throughout his time in Miami, Winderman notes that the team has always appeared more committed to Bam Adebayo as a cornerstone than Herro.

Ultimately, Winderman predicts that unless Herro budges off his max number, the two sides will not reach an agreement before the extension deadline. However, he believes that there will be plenty of willingness to find a deal that works for both sides in future offseasons.

When it comes to Jovic, Winderman observes that there’s no argument for him commanding a deal in the same range of Herro or Adebayo, but that locking in guaranteed long-term money somewhere in the neighborhood of the mid-level – such as a deal worth between $50-60MM over four years – could appeal to both sides.

Jovic would get security with the team and not have to risk restricted free agency, which has a tendency to squeeze less-established young players, and if he can prove himself to be a fifth starter or even one of the first players off the bench, the extension could become a team-friendly contract for Miami.

Finally, there’s Powell. He’s by no means a seamless fit next to Herro in the backcourt, assuming both start, which is not guaranteed. There’s also the locker-room issue of potentially signing Powell to an extension while not signing Herro, which could rankle the Heat lifer.

The Heat also may want to maintain as much cap flexibility as possible for 2026, when Terry Rozier‘s big expiring contract will also come off the books.

These factors have Winderman leaning no on a Powell extension, unless the Heat extend or trade Herro. However, Winderman notes that should Powell break out for the team with Herro recovering from surgery, that would improve his chances of landing a long-term deal.

This lines up with previous reporting from Miami Herald writer Barry Jackson, who indicated that the Heat would be open to the possibility of an extension if Powell starts the season well. Unlike Herro and Jovic, he’ll remain extension-eligible beyond opening night, all the way until June 30, 2026.

Tyler Herro Undergoes Ankle Surgery, Will Miss Start Of Season

September 19th, 2025 at 3:04pm CST by Arthur Hill

3:04 pm: According to a press release from the Heat, Herro underwent successful surgery on Friday to alleviate posterior impingement syndrome in his left ankle. He’s expected to miss about eight weeks, per the team, which would put him on track to return around mid-November.

9:35 am: Heat guard Tyler Herro is having surgery on his left foot that will force him to miss the start of the upcoming season, sources tell Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).

In a full story, Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald states that the procedure, which involves the ankle and foot area, was necessary to fix a “lingering injury” that bothered Herro throughout the summer. While a timetable hasn’t been set for Herro’s return, multiple sources tell Chiang that he’s not expected to be sidelined for the entire season.

Herro began feeling discomfort in his left ankle during an offseason workout, a source tells Chiang. He was given platelet-rich plasma and cortisone injections over the past few weeks in hopes that surgery wouldn’t be necessary, but the pain subsisted and doctors decided surgery was the best option to prevent it from becoming a long-term issue.

Herro, 25, is coming off his best NBA season and his first All-Star appearance. He averaged a career-high 23.9 PPG in 77 games while adding 5.2 rebounds and 5.5 assists per night and posting a .472/.375/.878 shooting line.

Chiang notes that Miami’s offense was far more productive with Herro on the court, producing 8.6 fewer points per possession while he rested. The team struggled to score in general, finishing 21st in overall offensive rating.

Norman Powell, who was acquired from the Clippers in a three-team deal this summer, will likely take Herro’s spot in the starting lineup and will be counted on to replace some of his scoring punch. Powell is also coming off a career-best season, scoring 21.8 PPG with L.A. while shooting 48.4% from the field and 41.8% from three-point range.

Chiang points out that Herro’s absence will come at a bad time for Miami, which faces a difficult early-season schedule. The Heat will play six of their first eight games on the road, including a West Coast trip, and 11 of their first 15 games are against teams that were in the playoffs last season.

Herro will become eligible for an extension with the team next month, Chiang adds. Beginning October 1, he could add up to three years and $149.7MM to the two seasons (at $31MM and $33MM) remaining on his current deal.

If an extension agreement isn’t reached by October 20, Herro will be eligible for a four-year extension worth up to $206.9MM next summer. That could increase to a potential five-year, $380MM super-max deal if he makes an All-NBA team during the upcoming season, but he’ll have to appear in at least 65 games to qualify and the surgery may make that difficult.

A league source tells Chiang that Herro and his agent are expected to meet with team officials in early October to begin extension talks. He adds that team president Pat Riley indicated in May during his season-ending meeting with reporters that a Herro extension might not happen until 2026.

“Pay me now or pay me later, whatever it is,” Riley said. “We’ve already talked about it. I talked about it with Tyler, and so we’ll see what happens as we plan. The numbers are getting pretty big for a lot of guys. Max salaries in this league, who do they go to? I mean, who do they go to and who is really? If you’re going to make $70 million a year, who are those five or 10 guys that deserve that? But Tyler definitely is deserving of the thought of an extension. But are we going to do it? We haven’t committed to it, but we’re going to discuss it and I’ve already talked to him about it. He’s cool.”

Heat Open To Exploring Norman Powell Extension

September 9th, 2025 at 1:36pm CST by Luke Adams

Norman Powell will likely open the 2025/26 season on an expiring contract, but the Heat are open to the idea of extending the veteran wing if the start of the season goes well, a source tells Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald.

The Heat acquired Powell in July from the Clippers in a three-team trade that sent Kyle Anderson and Kevin Love from Miami to Utah. While the move helped push the Heat into luxury tax territory (they later got out of the tax by trading Haywood Highsmith), the outgoing package was a modest price to pay for a talented offensive player coming off arguably the best season of his career.

In 60 games (all starts) for the Clippers in 2024/25, Powell averaged 21.8 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 2.1 assists in 32.6 minutes per night, with a shooting line of .484/.418/.804. He set career highs in points and minutes per contest, as well as three-pointers made (3.0 per game; 179 in total).

Powell, 32, will make about $20.5MM this season in the final season of the five-year, $90MM contract he signed with Portland as a free agent during the summer of 2021. He’s eligible to sign an extension at any point between now and June 30 — if he doesn’t complete a new deal by that time, he’ll reach unrestricted free agency next offseason.

The Heat’s salary cap situation going forward isn’t too bad, with nearly $35MM for Terry Rozier and Simone Fontecchio set to come off the books at the end of the 2025/26 season. However, Miami will also need to figure out whether Tyler Herro (UFA in 2027) and Andrew Wiggins (player option for 2026/27) are part of the long-term plans — and if so, at what price.

Given that Powell has yet to suit up for the Heat, it makes sense that the front office would prefer to wait until after the season begins to assess his fit and perhaps to get a clearer sense of what the team’s future cap situation will look like (Herro will be able to sign an extension between October 1 and the start of the regular season).

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