Dwyane Wade is a big fan of the Heat's trade for Norman Powell: ‘He's a great piece'
'That's my guy,' Wade posted on Instagram.
But Wade expanded on that three-word endorsement of Powell this week on the latest episode of his show, 'Time Out with Dwyane Wade.'
'He's a great piece, man,' Wade said on his show. 'Y'all know how good Norman is. He was an All-Star this year out there in the West. So for the Heat to be able to get a player like that with Bam [Adebayo], with Tyler [Herro] as the No. 1 and No. 2 options, all right. Let's go.'
Powell, 32, has not been shy about his admiration for Wade, who he grew up watching and idolizing. Powell also hasn't been shy in expressing his excitement in joining the Heat.
'Hearing that it was Miami, I was really excited,' Powell said last week of moving to the Heat. 'And then thinking back to my childhood and being a big fan of Dwyane Wade and watching the Heat growing up and wanting to play for the Heat organization as one of the teams as a childhood dream that you want to play for, it's definitely a cool, full-circle moment for me.'
It's also somewhat of a full-circle moment for Wade, who ran into Powell in France during a sports marketing event in mid-June.
'We got a chance to just rap on the street real quick, just a little vibe,' Wade said on 'The Time Out with Dwyane Wade.' 'Then I think I was golfing and I come back and I got a text on my phone and he's just like, 'Yo, big bro, I'm on my way. I'm going down to Miami. I can't wait to put a jersey on.' And I'm like, 'Who is this?''
It was Powell reaching out to alert Wade about the news. The Los Angeles Clippers traded Powell to the Heat just two and a half weeks after their chance encounter.
'I know how much of an inspiration that he took from the player that I was,' Wade said. 'Being a guy who's in that 6-foot-3, 6-foot-4 compact, quick, explosive. He's taken pieces of different people's game, of course, and he's given me some love for what he saw that I did that he has utilized in his own game. So it's cool to have that connection.
'It's a dream for him to put that jersey on because he grew up watching one of his favorite players play in that jersey. So it's going to be an emotional night for him, I'm sure, when he actually gets out there and actually puts that jersey on. It's cool.'
Powell was acquired by the Heat last week as part of a three-team trade with the Clippers and Utah Jazz. The Heat sent center Kevin Love and forward Kyle Anderson to the Jazz to land Powell, who brings a much-needed scoring punch to a Heat team that has finished with a bottom-10 offensive rating in each of the last three seasons.
Powell produced All-Star-caliber numbers last regular season, averaging a career-high 21.8 points to go with 3.2 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.2 steals per game while shooting 48.4% from the field and 41.8% on 7.1 three-point attempts per game for the Clippers. Powell was among six NBA players who averaged at least 21 points per game while shooting better than 48% from the field and better than 40% from three-point range last regular season along with Nikola Jokic, Kevin Durant, Karl-Anthony Towns, Zach LaVine and Kawhi Leonard.
Powell, who won an NBA championship with the Toronto Raptors in 2019 before spending the last three-plus seasons with the Clippers, is on an expiring $20.5 million salary for this upcoming season and will be an unrestricted free agent next offseason. He's currently eligible to sign an extension worth up to $80.6 million over three seasons, with that extension window closing on June 30, 2026.
'At this point in his career, this is the perfect place for him to get to that level that he was just on the cusp of,' Wade continued on Powell. 'That All-Star level, being one of the best players.
'He's just a great competitor out there on that floor, man. That's what Miami loves, Miami loves competitors and Norman Powell is that. So that's another step in the direction that you want to see Miami turn to to get this thing right back on track and not go too far away from it. So that's a good one.'
INVESTIGATION ONGOING
A league source recently confirmed that the federal investigation on whether Heat guard Terry Rozier manipulated his performance as part of an illegal sports betting scheme remains ongoing.
The game being looked at came on March 23, 2023, when Rozier was a member of the Charlotte Hornets. Rozier hasn't yet been charged with a crime or accused of wrongdoing.
The investigation into Rozier, which was made public in late January, is part of a larger government probe that led to a criminal charge and lifetime ban from the NBA for former Toronto Raptors forward Jontay Porter.
ESPN reported last month that federal authorities are also investigating guard Malik Beasley on allegations of gambling related to NBA games and prop bets. Beasley spent last season with the Detroit Pistons and is a free agent this offseason.
Rozier, 31, is on an expiring contract this upcoming season, with $24.9 million of his $26.6 million salary for next season already guaranteed.
Unlike team-issued suspensions that don't translate into salary-cap relief, an NBA suspension of Rozier would give the Heat salary-cap and luxury-tax relief (but not relief toward the aprons) of 50 percent of the salary lost during a suspension. Being expelled from the NBA would completely remove Rozier's salary from the Heat's payroll.
HEAT'S SUMMER SCHEDULE
After taking on the Pistons' summer squad on Thursday in Las Vegas (4 p.m., NBA TV), the NBA announced Tuesday that the Heat's fifth and final game of Las Vegas Summer League will be on Friday against the Milwaukee Bucks (7 p.m., ESPN+).
The Heat went 2-1 in the California Classic and is 1-2 in Las Vegas Summer League.
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