The Los Angeles Clippers entered the 2025-26 season with considerable hype. Their team may be old, but their depth seemed much-improved. They brought in Chris Paul and Brook Lopez via free agency, and then they addressed their longstanding need for a more traditionally-sized power forward by trading for John Collins, sending Norman Powell to the Miami Heat in the process.
They were confident about trading Powell away not because the 32-year-old was not being productive, but because they were bringing in Bradley Beal as well after he secured a buyout from the Phoenix Suns. Beal endured a difficult 2024-25 campaign, but he still has a long track record of productive basketball. And he's only 32 years of age as well, making him a reasonable facsimile, or, some would argue, improvement over Powell all while bringing Collins in.
However, this trade is not working out in the Clippers' favor, while the Heat are laughing their way to the bank with the way they look like runaway thieves in the Collins-Powell swap.
Trouble in Clippers land?
It might be early days in the 2025-26 season, but a 3-5 start to the new campaign was most definitely not what the Clippers envisioned for themselves. They were healthy to begin the season, with Kawhi Leonard looking like he's in his healthiest form in many years. James Harden also finds a way to get his team wins during the regular season, and with their added depth across multiple positions, they had more leeway to rest their veterans whose loads need to be managed.
Alas, there are plenty of reasons to worry about the Clippers. Their offense hasn't been very good, which is not anything out of the ordinary. They ranked 15th in offensive rating last season, after all. But they are somehow scoring one fewer point per 100 possessions this season, and the loss of Powell has been a major factor behind their increased difficulty in scoring the basketball.
Powell has missed a few games here and there, but his ability to score the basketball has remained the same. He's averaging a cool 23.2 points per game on the year on over 51 percent shooting from beyond the arc, and this is the kind of play the Clippers miss from their shooting guard corps.
Powell thrived so much last year for the Clippers, especially when Leonard was out. He was so consistent from beyond the arc, and he was able to create so much off the dribble as well by being a relentless attacker and an efficient midrange scorer. He did taper off towards the end of the 2024-25 campaign due to injuries and a reduced role in LA's offense with Leonard returning, but he's proving with the Heat that last season wasn't just a one-off.
Meanwhile, the Clippers are reeling on the offensive end, as the man they brought in to replace Powell in Beal has been downright putrid. It's not quite clear if Beal's performance during the Clippers' 115-102 loss to the Phoenix Suns on Thursday was the rock bottom of his career, but it's getting pretty close.
With Harden and Leonard out, Beal was supposed to be the go-to guy for LA on the night. Instead, he put up a stinker. He shot just 2-14 from the field and was outplayed by the inexperienced Cam Christie, who put up 17 points in 25 minutes. Beal does not look right, and he looked like he was moving in mud. What was supposed to be a revenge game for Beal against the team that gave up on him ended up being a nightmare.
And it hasn't been a one-off for Beal, who, on paper, should be thriving with the open looks he's supposed to get in this supposedly stacked Clippers team. He's been limited to around 20 minutes per game, but his production during those minutes has been dreadful. He's averaging a paltry 7.4 points per contest on 35.9 percent shooting — numbers that would normally force someone out of any aspiring contending team's rotation.
It would be one thing if Collins, the man the Clippers got for Beal, was popping off for LA. But head coach Tyronn Lue has refused to start Collins, capping his production ceiling. He's come off the bench in all eight Clippers games even though he's been much better than Beal — averaging 12.6 points and 5.0 rebounds on 55/42/71 shooting splits.
But just to cap what has been a disastrous start to the year for the Clippers, their defense has been abysmal. They are allowing 118.1 points per 100 possessions — a huge downfall from their third-ranked defense (109.4 points allowed per 100) last year.
Perhaps a change could be in the offing, with Collins stepping into the starting lineup and Kris Dunn being the designated defensive ace the Clippers rely on to start instead of Derrick Jones Jr. One thing's for sure — losing Powell has been painful for the Clippers, especially with Beal stinking the joint to begin the year.
The Heat always find a way
How the Heat managed to turn Kyle Anderson (who's not getting minutes on the Utah Jazz) and Kevin Love (barely playing for the Jazz) into Powell remains so perplexing. Powell was a fringe All-Star player last year, garnering buzz for the way he and Harden kept the Clippers afloat last year amid Leonard's injury. He was one of the most efficient volume scorers in the league, and although he was injury-prone, he was very valuable.
He was also on the last year of his deal, so perhaps the Clippers were simply selling high. But how were the Heat able to buy that low on Powell? Pat Riley must be laughing maniacally for the way his team stole away Powell like he was a scrub.
Powell has become very necessary for the Heat amid Tyler Herro's injury. He's able to create off the bounce and he is arguably the team's most self-sufficient scorer.
The Heat's offense has fallen a bit after quite a blistering start, but they are finding it much easier to score the basketball this year than they did last season despite being without Herro for the entirety of the campaign thus far.
They are currently putting up 115.0 points per 100 possessions, which is a considerable improvement from their 112.4 mark last year. The Heat are flowing, and Powell, who was acquired for two fringe rotation players, has been instrumental in lifting their offense.
Bam Adebayo's development as a three-point shooter (he has made 16 triples in eight games to begin the 2025-26 campaign) has helped grease the wheels for the Heat offense, while the likes of Jaime Jaquez Jr., Andrew Wiggins, and even Simone Fontecchio have been brilliant in putting the ball through the hoop.
Now, the Heat are facing some adversity at the moment. They are without Adebayo for their clash against the Charlotte Hornets on Friday night, while Herro remains on the mend after undergoing offseason on his ankle and foot.
But under head coach Erik Spoelstra, the Heat always find a way to get the job done. Even Pelle Larsson, the Heat's second-round pick in 2024, has developed into a legitimate rotation player. Davion Mitchell has found his footing as a professional under Heat Culture. Kel'el Ware will have all the opportunity in the world to dominate on the interior with Adebayo out.
The Heat's ceiling may not be any higher than a second-round playoff team, and that's the absolute best-case scenario already. But with the Eastern Conference being wide-open, a bit of an offensive jolt just might be what the team needed. And they got that in the form of Powell, who, once again, was acquired for Anderson and Love.
