The Portland Trail Blazers pulled off one of the bigger deals at the NBA Trade Deadline when they acquired Norman Powell from the Toronto Raptors in exchange for Gary Trent Jr. and Rodney Hood.
Powell has turned himself into a strong rotation player, as he was a key part of the Toronto Raptors’ NBA Championship run in 2019 and will look to help the Blazers do the same this year. As he readies to enter free agency this summer, Powell will be looking to cash in.
The former UCLA product has developed into a useful two-way player. He can fill it up when needed and also gets after it defensively and can defend multiple positions.
Portland will do their damndest to retain him in free agency. They didn’t trade away a key part of their rotation in Trent Jr. to only have Powell play with them for a few months. But, if they are going to keep Powell when he hits free agency, they will have to pony up.
“I think Norman Powell is gonna get 20-plus easily,” said the personnel evaluator. “He’s just a guy that can play with anybody. He doesn’t need the ball in his hands to be effective. He’s a good defender, he’s a great athlete, he gets to the rim. You can play him at the 3, you can play him at the 2. He’s a great character guy.”
That would be quite an increase in pay for Powell, who has made just about $22.5 million in his career. But, it is one that he has certainly earned with his play.
Powell will have plenty of suitors this offseason, but one team to keep an eye on is the New York Knicks. Knicks’ head coach Tom Thibodeau is considered a fan of the swingman and his style of play fits what Thibodeau does with his teams.
Armed with a ton of cap space this offseason, New York could throw their weight around if Norman Powell is someone they determine they want to have this summer.
