Norman Powell thought Miami was still in play. Instead, he’s headed to Chicago, and the reason he never got to suit up next to Giannis Antetokounmpo comes down to a simple split: the money didn’t line up.
Powell signed a two-year, $45 million deal with the Bulls after leaving the Heat, and that contract says plenty about where his market stood. Miami, meanwhile, was keeping its focus on the Antetokounmpo trade, and Powell’s price tag never matched what the Heat were willing to commit.
That’s what makes the fit that never happened sting a little. Powell would have brought exactly what a team built around Giannis needs: transition burst, perimeter scoring, and the kind of three-point shooting that can make life easier for a star who draws so much attention. He also would have made sense alongside Bam, at least in Powell’s own view.
“Honestly, I thought I would be going back to Miami throughout the course of the year. We knew they wanted to get Giannis.
We heard some rumblings that ‘Norm and Giannis sounds really good.’ So I thought that was the path,” Powell said in an interview with FadeawayWorld's Mark Medina.
Instead, the Heat are now searching the league for answers to their perimeter shooting issues, with Klay Thompson being mentioned as a possible option, though nothing is certain there yet.
Powell’s comments sparked a reaction from Heat fans, and he ended up defending himself on X on Monday. The whole situation circles back to the same point: Powell could have stayed, but Miami was locked in on its Giannis plan, and his contract demands weren’t met.
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