LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Clippers, Norman Powell thought, had a good thing going. And then he was gone.
With the Miami Heat’s four-game trip continuing with Monday night’s game against the Los Angeles Clippers, it brings Powell back to deal with the assessments of others, namely the Clippers’ front office.
His trade situation in July was unique. The Clippers got nothing in return from the Heat. Instead, by moving off Powell’s salary, the Clippers created enough salary-cap flexibility to bring in both John Collins (from the Utah Jazz, via trade) and Bradley Beal (from the Phoenix Suns, via free agency).
So are two better than Powell’s one?
“It’s a business, at the end of the day,” said Powell, sidelined by a groin strain at the start of this trip. “I don’t think it has to do with something better. I do know with the talks, getting two players for one, in the sense of that’s how they were looking, in order to set up their team, would be beneficial for them.
“Whether it was the right move or the smart move, time will tell.”
In that regard, Powell said he has moved on, no need to track what Beal and Collins have accomplished with the teammates he left behind.
“My job is to go out there every single time a team trades me or moves on from me and show them that they made a mistake,” he said, having previously been dealt by the Toronto Raptors to the Portland Trail Blazers in 2021, and then from the Trail Blazers to the Clippers in 2022. “That’s my mindset and I think I’m doing a pretty good job of it so far.
“But it’s early in the season. There’s a lot more work to be done, and I’m just focused on where my feet are at and what this team needs and this organization that wanted me and saw value in me needs me to go out there and play every single night. So I’m just focused on the present moment and being the best I can be for this team and forgetting about what they did.”
But not forgetting those he left behind at the Intuit Dome.
Related Articles
How Erik Spoelstra found his scoring savant and fueled the Heat’s offensive eruption
ASK IRA: Is it time for the Heat to again explore the Ja Morant possibility?
Still a Heat waiting game with Norman Powell, Tyler Herro; Doncic up next
Ira Winderman: A blueprint needed in Rozier-Heat-NBA conundrum? Here’s one rendering
ASK IRA: Will Heat shot diet have to change when all are available?
“For me,” he said, “I think it’s going to be business as usual for me, because I’ve been through this before. It’s not the first time having to come back and play after being traded. It’s definitely going to be a fun game, seeing everybody again, saying hello.
“But once that ball goes up, all that’s out the window. So I’m excited to go back. I know the love and support since day one playing for that organization was great, even after being traded. So just excited to go back and see some familiar faces and get a win.”
At it again
It was like old times Saturday for Heat guard Jaime Jaquez Jr., as he practiced in one gym at UCLA’s Mo Ostin Basketball Center and his sister, Bruins guard Gabriella Jaquez, practiced in another.
“She’s doing her thing and I was doing mine,” said Jaquez, drafted by the Heat at No. 18 in 2023 out of UCLA. “They always practice around this time. It’s crazy how that all works out.”
Gabriella Jaquez and the Bruins, coming off a Final Four finish last season, are ranked No. 3 in the preseason Associated Press poll, to open their season Monday at home against San Diego State while Jaime and the Heat are playing the Clippers.
“I couldn’t be prouder,” Jaime said. “It’s not every day you get siblings who both have been to a Final Four. She’s still got an opportunity to go win a championship her final year. Really proud of everything she’s been able to do over her career here.”
