Jake Fischer’s latest trade note has a familiar name back in the conversation for Toronto: Norman Powell.
In a recent edition of Bleacher Report’s Insider Notebook, Fischer said Powell should draw plenty of attention on the trade market as the season moves along. The appeal is easy to see. Powell has built a reputation as a scorer, he’s been a steady near-40 percent shooter from deep, and he brings veteran value that contenders tend to chase.
Powell’s path to this point has already taken a few turns. After his first All-Star season at age 32 with the Heat last year, he left for Chicago on a two-year, $44.1 million deal that includes a team option for the second season. It was the biggest annual salary of his career, but it also left him on a contract that could be moved at the deadline.
That’s where the Raptors enter the picture. Powell’s name would make sense for Toronto to monitor, and Bobby Webster could easily have him on the list of possible targets if Chicago decides to shop him.
From a basketball standpoint, the fit is obvious. Powell is the kind of guard who can work around Kawhi Leonard and Scottie Barnes, moving without the ball, staying ready to fire, creating his own shot when needed, and giving you a dependable scoring punch from three. Even with his efficiency down this season - he’s shooting 41.8 percent from the field and 34 percent from three - he still profiles as the kind of player every opponent keys on when the Bulls are on the schedule.
The bigger issue has never really been his offense. It’s the other end. At 6-foot-3, Powell can get pushed around physically, and with the heavier scoring burden he’s carried in Miami, with the Los Angeles Clippers, and now in Chicago, that defensive concern has only grown.
If Toronto and Chicago ever got serious about a deal, the money side would likely push RJ Barrett into the outgoing package, since the Bulls would probably want to keep future cap flexibility. Toronto would also likely have to attach draft capital, and that’s where the idea starts to get tricky. Powell’s offense is appealing, and his chemistry with Leonard from their LA days and the 2019 championship run is already built in, but the cost matters.
The case against it is straightforward: Barrett’s defensive ceiling in a playoff series as a 6-foot-7 wing looks better than Powell’s fit in a backcourt alongside Immanuel Quickley, at least in this setup. The one version of the trade that would make the conversation more interesting is if Chicago included Jalen Smith.
Smith, known as “Stix,” has quietly become one of the more underrated players around the league. He’s a stretch big who rebounds, plays hard, and currently leads the Bulls in net rating despite the team’s struggles. He’d give Darko Rajakovic another big with floor-spacing ability that Toronto doesn’t really have right now.
So yes, Powell-to-Toronto is a real idea to keep an eye on. But if the price is RJ Barrett and extra draft value, that’s a steep ask. If Jalen Smith is part of the return, though, Bobby Webster would have plenty to think about.
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Raptors Could Lose A Key Assistant To A Job He Nearly Landed
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For Toronto, it is the kind of development worth watching closely. Mahlalela brings coaching experience from both the Raptors and the Golden State Warriors, and another run at the Liberty job would put him in the same conversation he was nearly part of a year ago. The Raptors have benefited from his presence, but they may have to brace for the possibility that he gets another serious look elsewhere. [Read more 🡒]