Is there a way for the Heat to keep Norman Powell after trading for Giannis? It won’t be easy
Even after landing two-time NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo in a blockbuster trade on Monday night, the work is not done for the Miami Heat.
The Heat now must fill out the rest of its roster for next season after sending guard Tyler Herro, center Kel’el Ware, forward Jaime Jaquez Jr., guard Kasparas Jakucionis, three first-round picks, one pick swap and one second-rounder to the Milwaukee Bucks to acquire Antetokounmpo and veteran forward Bobby Portis.
With the Heat expected to prioritize outside shooting when filling out the rest of its roster around the leading duo of Antetokounmpo and three-time All-Star center Bam Adebayo, bringing back impending free agent guard Norman Powell would make sense. But it will be very challenging to make the money work.
Following the trade, the Heat’s roster is at nine players on standard contracts: Antetokounmpo ($58.5 million for 2026-27), Adebayo ($49.5 million), Nikola Jovic ($16.2 million), Portis ($14.5 million), Davion Mitchell ($12.4 million), Dru Smith (fully nonguaranteed $2.6 million), Pelle Larsson ($2.3 million team option), Myron Gardner ($250,000 of $2.6 million salary guaranteed) and Jahmir Young (fully nonguaranteed $2.4 million). NBA teams are essentially required to carry at least 14 players on standard contracts and can have up to 15 players on standard deals during the regular season.
Andrew Wiggins could become the 10th player to join that list if he exercises the $30.2 million player option in his contract with the Heat, which he must decide on by June 29.
The Heat can also add an 11th standard contract player to its roster for next season with the 41st overall pick in the second round of the NBA Draft on Wednesday (8 p.m., ESPN).
While first-round picks are slotted into salaries through the NBA’s rookie scale, there isn’t as much structure with second-round selections. NBA teams can use a two-way contract or standard contract to sign a second-round pick.
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Assuming Wiggins opts in and the Heat keeps its second-round selection and signs that player to a minimum contract that would come with a cap hit of about $1.4 million, the Heat has about $192 million committed to salaries for 11 players.
With the projected salary cap for the 2026-27 season set at $165 million and the projected luxury tax set at $200.5 million, this means the Heat enters free agency already approaching luxury tax territory. With three or four roster spots still to fill for next season, the Heat is also on its way to approaching the first apron of $209 million.
The issue for the Heat is because it took back more salary than it sent out in the trade for Antetokounmpo, it will be hard-capped at the projected first apron of $209 million for the entirety of next season.
That leaves the Heat just $17 million under the first apron to add three to four players to standard contracts for next season.
Even if the Heat opts to begin this season with 14 players on standard deals (one fewer than the maximum) and minimum salaries (counting about $2.5 million each) are used to fill two of the open spots, the Heat is still left with just about $12 million to offer Powell for this upcoming season.
Considering that Powell made $20.5 million and was selected for his first NBA All-Star Game this past season, he’s not going to take a pay cut of $8 million to return to the Heat.
So, how can the Heat create more room below the first apron threshold to re-sign Powell?
One way is to convince Wiggins to opt out of his player option and renegotiate his deal into a longer contract with a lower starting salary. For example, Wiggins opting out and then signing a three-year contract worth $75 million would lower his cap hit for this upcoming season from $30.2 million to about $23 million.
This would allow the Heat to offer Powell a contract with a salary of about $19 million for next season while still remaining under the first apron.
Another option for the Heat is to shed salary through a trade to create room under the first apron.
Trading Jovic’s $16.2 million salary for this upcoming season into salary cap space or for a cheaper contract would give the Heat more money below the first apron to offer Powell.
Powell, 33, closed his first year with the Heat with averages of 21.7 points, 3.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.1 steals per game while shooting 47% from the field and 38% from three-point range last regular season. He finished just short of surpassing his single-season career-high of 21.8 points per game.
But Powell dealt with nagging injuries during the final few months of this past season, as he missed 13 of the Heat’s 26 games following the All-Star break. He was sidelined for seven games because of a right groin strain, one game because of left calf tightness, four games because of an illness and one game because of right groin soreness.
“They have to make decisions and things based on the team and where they want to be and what they want to do next year,” Powell said in April when asked whether he wants to return to the Heat. “Hopefully I’m a part of the plan. And if I am, great. Like I said, I like my time here. So we’ll just see where they’re at, where my agent is at, and what’s going on in free agency.”
ESPN NBA insider Shams Charania reported Tuesday that Powell is not expected to re-sign with the Heat because of Miami’s salary-cap crunch in the wake of the Antetokounmpo trade.
“We can probably take Norman Powell off of this starting five,” Charania said on ESPN. “The Heat are expecting him not to be there this offseason. ... Financially it’s going to be very difficult to keep him. .... They could participate in a sign a trade with Norman Powell. But the Heat are operating as if he’s going to either end up in a sign-and-trade or end up elsewhere.”
NBA reporter Jake Fischer reported Tuesday that the Detroit Pistons are among the teams expected to pursue Powell in free agency.
If Powell isn’t back, the Heat will have room under the first apron to use most of its $15.1 million non-taxpayer mid-level exception. This exception can be split between multiple players.
Among the impending free agents who could help fill the Heat’s need for three-point shooting and would be in the price range of a minimum contract to a portion/all of the mid-level exception are Bradley Beal (if opts out of $5.6 million player option), Jordan Clarkson, Simone Fontecchio, Tim Hardaway Jr., Quentin Grimes, Kevin Huerter, Luke Kennard, Khris Middleton, Kelly Oubre Jr., Duncan Robinson (if salary not guaranteed by Pistons), Anfernee Simons, Gabe Vincent and Coby White.
But it should not be assumed that the Heat will even want to enter the luxury tax this upcoming season. Why?
The Heat would be a luxury tax team in three of the last four seasons if it ends up as a luxury tax team next season. This isn’t ideal, considering the onerous repeater tax that’s triggered when a team crosses the luxury-tax threshold in four straight seasons or four times during a five-season period.
The Heat has never been a repeater tax team, managing to avoid it over the years.
So while the Heat added the superstar it has been looking for in Antetokounmpo, it still has a lot to figure out in the coming days and weeks.
