Heat land Norman Powell from Clippers in three-team trade, Kevin Love reacts at being dealt to Jazz
The Heat have boosted their offense in a three-team trade with the Clippers and Jazz that sees a bewildered Kevin Love depart.
The Miami Heat have acquired Norman Powell from the Los Angeles Clippers in a three-team trade, with five-time All-Star Kevin Love departing as part of a deal that also includes the Utah Jazz.
Swingman Powell is coming off a a 2024-25 season in which he averaged a career-high 21.8 points per game to help the Clippers to the fifth seed in the Western Conference. Powell started 60 games, the most of his NBA career, and shot 48.4% from the field and 41.8% from beyond the arc. He set career-highs in two-pointers per game (4.6) and three-pointers per game (3.0).
But the Clippers have elected to move on from Powell, per Shams Chanaria of ESPN, sending his expiring contract worth $20.48 million to the Heat, with whom he will likely serve as a complementary piece to Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo.
The deal also sees power forward John Collins head to the Clippers from the Jazz, who receive Love and Kyle Anderson from Heat, and a second-round pick in 2027 from Los Angeles.
Love, 36, and Kyle Anderson, 31, join a Jazz team a long way from contention, with the 2025-26 season likely to be focused around developing Ace Bailey and fellow first-round pick Walter Clayton Jr.
An NBA champion in 2016, Love was clearly not thrilled about the trade.
Never thought I’d be a math problem. Welcome to the NBA.
— Kevin Love (@kevinlove) July 7, 2025
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Love, who started just 14 games in the last two seasons for the Heat, wrote: “Never thought I’d be a math problem. Welcome to the NBA.”
Collins was a bright spot for the Jazz as they finished with a league-worst 17-65 record last season. Despite being limited down the stretch by back and ankle injuries, Collins averaged 19 points per game, his highest tally since the 2020-21 season. He shot 52.7% from the field, 39.9% from the three-point line and averaged 8.2 total rebounds.
Still only 27, Collins offers the Clippers a significant lob threat as they aim to construct a roster around Kawhi Leonard and James Harden that can go deep into the postseason after last season’s disappointing first-round exit.