Norman Powell leaves Heat after one season to join Bulls in free agency
Norman Powell’s Miami Heat tenure lasted only one season.
With the Heat limited in how much it could offer in free agency to bring back the veteran guard, Powell agreed to a two-year deal worth $45 million to join the Chicago Bulls, a league source confirmed to the Miami Herald on Wednesday morning. The Heat did not get anything in return for losing Powell, as it’s an outright free agent agreement with the Bulls and not a sign-and-trade agreement facilitated by the Heat.
The Heat could not come close to matching the Bulls’ offer, entering free agency only able to offer Powell a 2026-27 salary of up to $11.5 million since it’s hard-capped at the first apron because of the blockbuster trade that landed two-time NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo.
After committing a one-year contract worth $6.5 million to three-point shooting guard Tim Hardaway Jr. early in free agency on Tuesday, the Heat entered Wednesday with just about $6.5 million left to offer Powell as a 2026-27 salary.
According to a league source, the Heat opted to move on from Powell and didn’t push to try to create more room under the first apron to re-sign him.
But Powell’s time in Miami was one he will always remember for a few reasons, as he made his first NBA All-Star Game and celebrated the birth of his first child during his lone season with the Heat.
Powell, 33, closed his only season 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.
With Powell now off the market, only two players on the Heat’s season-ending 15-man standard roster are still available in free agency: Jahmir Young (unrestricted free agent) and Keshad Johnson (unrestricted free agent).
The Heat’s salary-cap breakdown includes 12 players on standard contracts for next season: Antetokounmpo ($58.5 million for 2026-27), Bam Adebayo ($49.5 million), Andrew Wiggins ($30.2 million), Nikola Jovic ($16.2 million), Bobby Portis ($14.5 million), Davion Mitchell ($12.4 million), Hardaway ($6.5 million), Dru Smith ($2.6 million), Simone Fontecchio ($2.5 million salary, but $2.5 million cap hit), Pelle Larsson ($2.3 million), Myron Gardner ($500,000 of $2.6 million salary guaranteed) and Ryan Conwell (undetermined salary figure).
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 seasons, which leaves the Heat with two to three standard roster spots to fill.
Assuming the Heat signs Conwell to a minimum contract that would come with a cap hit of about $1.4 million, the Heat has about $199 million committed to salaries for 12 players.
With the salary cap for the 2026-27 season set at $165 million and the luxury tax set at $200.4 million, this means the Heat is already approaching luxury tax territory. With two or three 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 and used a trade exception created last season to acquire Portis, it’s hard-capped at the projected first apron of $209 million for the entirety of the 2026-27 NBA calendar.
That leaves the Heat just about $10 million under the first apron to add two to three 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 a minimum salary (counting about $2.5 million each) is used to fill one of the open spots, the Heat has about $6.5 million left of its midlevel exception to use on another free agent (counting the $1 million safety net that Miami will likely want to save to add a 15th player later in the season).
This means the Heat also currently only has about $6.5 million (portion of its midlevel exception) to offer future Basketball Hall of Famer LeBron James, who informed the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday that he would not return to them and is available in free agency. But ESPN NBA insider Shams Charania reported that money will not drive James’ free-agent decision.
Power rotation players who could be options for the remainder of the Heat’s midlevel exception/minimum contract include Nic Vucevic, Mo Wagner, Marvin Bagley, Kevin Love, Andre Drummond, Bismack Biyombo and Dwight Powell and Nik Richards.
Wing players who could be options for the remainder of the Heat’s midlevel exception/minimum contract include Bradley Beal, Anfernee Simons (who is seeking far more than Miami can offer), Tobias Harris, Kelly Oubre and Matisse Thybulle.
Guards who could be midlevel/minimum options for the Heat include Collin Sexton, Gabe Vincent, Khris Middleton (has been linked to Miami because of his background with Antetokounmpo), Cam Thomas, Bruce Brown, Jordan Clarkson, Jett Howard, Josh Okogie, Aaron Holiday, Jevon Carter, Russell Westbrook, Mike Conley, Cam Payne, Tyus Jones and Gary Payton II.
