As the NBA offseason begins to come to a standstill, as we stare down the dog days of August, it’s still difficult to give the Miami Heat’s front office the flowers they deserve for flat-out stealing Norman Powell from the LA Clippers. The fact that the Heat were able to acquire Powell in exchange for Kyle Anderson and Kevin Love is highway robbery.

In what will end up being one of the more underrated moves of the offseason, it’s pretty amazing the Heat managed to land a borderline All-Star player in exchange for two players who likely weren’t going to play big roles in the rotation for the team this season.

The Heat’s underrated move for Norman Powell

Even though he didn’t get enough votes or get the nod as a replacement player, Powell was good enough to be in the same breath as many of the All-Star players in the Western Conference. Powell had a career year in which he averaged 22 points and three rebounds on 48 percent shooting from the field and 42 percent shooting from 3-point range.

Those numbers are right on par with what Tyler Herro averaged last season as a first-time All-Star.

Miami is not getting nearly enough praise for adding a borderline All-Star player for, essentially, pennies on the dollar. Sure, Powell is in his final year of his contract, and that now becomes the Heat’s “problem,” but this is great value in the grand scheme of team building.

The Heat took advantage of the desperate Clippers

Looking back, it’s pretty clear that the Heat took advantage of a Clippers team that was desperately shuffling to make room for Bradley Beal. I don’t think this deal gets done if LA doesn’t know that they’re at the front of the line to sign Beal (after his buyout from the Phoenix Suns).

The Clippers needed a way to “dump” Powell, and this deal, for one reason or another, was viewed as their best option of making that happen. The idea that there weren’t any better offers on the table is pretty astonishing. And the rest of the league should probably be ashamed.

Nevertheless, this deal allowed the Clippers to get out from under Powell’s contract, but also helped them create space and a defined role for Beal.

Miami didn’t blink and were repaid for being patient and waiting out this process with the Clippers.

The big question for Miami revolves around whether they’ll be able to capitalize on this move. In theory, it’s a good move that should pay dividends for the team. However, how they operate with Powell on the roster when the season starts will be the true testament of that.

The Heat certainly have some big picture plans for 2026, but it’s clear that the addition of Powell will give the team some added flexibility and, perhaps most important, more options in how to operate.