Heat
Heat guard Norman Powell may be one of the more interesting names tied to the Giannis Antetokounmpo dominoes this offseason.
According to ESPN’s Bobby Marks, Miami could potentially thread the needle financially by re-signing Powell, remaining active in a Giannis pursuit and still preserving enough flexibility to improve the roster elsewhere.
Marks proposed a three-year, $65 million contract for Powell with a team option on the final season.
The key is structure. A starting salary around $20 million would allow Miami to stay maneuverable under the apron rules even if a blockbuster Antetokounmpo trade materializes.
Powell is coming off a career season offensively, averaging 21.7 points per game. But there’s at least some concern about durability and second-half production. Marks noted Powell’s scoring dipped after the All-Star break for a second straight year while injuries continued limiting his availability.
Still, when healthy, Powell remains one of the league’s better scoring wings and an obvious fit for a Heat team still searching for offensive punch around Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro.
Lakers
Lakers forward Rui Hachimura continues looking like one of the organization’s sneakiest good moves of the past few years.
ESPN’s Bobby Marks called the Lakers’ 2023 trade for Hachimura one of the better value deals in recent memory after Los Angeles landed him for Kendrick Nunn and second-round picks.
Now comes the next contract. Marks projected a four-year, $64 million deal for Hachimura, roughly equivalent to non-tax midlevel exception money annually.
The numbers back it up. Hachimura has quietly become one of the NBA’s more efficient complementary forwards. He’s the only player in Lakers history to shoot at least 40 percent from three across three straight seasons while attempting at least 150 threes each year.
This season, he ranked fifth in the NBA in three-point percentage.
Even more impressively, Marks pointed out that Hachimura and Kevin Durant are the only players over the past three years to shoot at least 50 percent from the field and 40 percent from deep every season.
That’s pretty elite company.
Trail Blazers
Trail Blazers center Robert Williams III remains one of the NBA’s biggest “if healthy” players.
That’s exactly why Bobby Marks structured his projected contract accordingly.
Marks proposed a three-year, $42 million deal for Williams, though only the first season would be fully guaranteed. Future guarantees would depend heavily on games played incentives after years of injury concerns.
The talent itself has never really been the issue.
Williams reminded everybody during Portland’s playoff run why he once earned All-Defensive honors with the Boston Celtics. In the opening-round series against the San Antonio Spurs, Williams anchored Portland defensively while averaging 9.3 points, 7.5 rebounds and 1.5 blocks.
According to ESPN Research, San Antonio shot just 35 percent when Williams defended shots during the first three games of the series.
The problem is availability. Williams has topped 59 games only twice in eight NBA seasons. So while Portland clearly values him, any long-term deal probably needs major protection built into it.
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