Norman Powell thrived to begin his debut season with the Miami Heat, earning his first All-Star selection in his age-32 campaign before injuries and inconsistency got the best of him.

While the score-first wing has expressed a desire to remain in Miami long-term, according to Bleacher Report’s Grant Hughes, the franchise may be better off letting its leading scorer “walk away” in free agency.

Norman Powell Predicted To Leave Heat in 2026 NBA Free Agency

Powell has played for four organizations in 11 years, progressing from an athletic, energizing bench slasher to a high-volume scorer. Unlike most players, the 2015 No. 46 pick peaked in his 30s, with his top two scoring seasons coming in the 2024-25 campaign with the Los Angeles Clippers (21.8 points per game) and this year with Miami, when he averaged a team-best 21.7 ppg.

Even so, Powell’s relatively small stature (6-foot-3), defensive limitations, and injury concerns have cast doubt on his free agency outlook.

After seeing his scoring production dip to 17.5 ppg post-All-Star break, the 2019 NBA champion was relegated to a bench role in Miami’s 127-126 season-ending overtime play-in road loss to the Charlotte Hornets. The veteran logged just 11 points as the Heat leaned heavily on star shooting guard Tyler Herro and defensive-minded point guard Davion Mitchell in the backcourt.

Given Powell’s age (33), somewhat one-dimensional skill set, and the lingering possibility of a sudden decline, ESPN’s Bobby Marks anticipates that he’ll warrant a three-year, $65 million contract with a team option in the final season. Such a deal would leave wiggle room for Miami to pursue stars like Giannis Antetokounmpo on the trade market and potentially add some much-needed juice to its Bam Adebayo-led roster.

MORE:‘He Didn’t Answer the Call’ — 7-Time All-Star Blasts Chet Holmgren’s Lack of ‘Accountability’ After Game 7 No-Show vs. Victor Wembanyama

However, Hughes foresees the Heat letting Powell, who just wrapped up a five-year, $90,000,000 contract, leave in free agency to prioritize future financial flexibility and internal development.

“The Miami Heat have plenty of reasons to let the 33-year-old shooting guard walk away,” Hughes began in his Sunday article titled, “2026 NBA Free Agency Predictions for Every Team.”

“First, they’d probably need to extend Powell’s new deal out multiple years to beat the market. Miami’s broader plans are uncertain and could include a superstar trade, but most fallback options involve preserving cap space for 2027. Committing to Powell’s decline phase wouldn’t make sense in that scenario — not with Tyler Herro playing the same position (with many of the same flaws).

“Perhaps if Andrew Wiggins declines his player option and departs, the Heat would consider Powell more of a retention priority. Even then, though, Miami’s in-house options include Pelle Larsson and Nikola Jović. The latter might one day stay on the floor and make enough 3s to replicate Powell’s production at a different position.

“The Heat landed Powell for virtually nothing last offseason, and he outplayed his $20 million salary for long stretches. Those facts aren’t enough to make him a surefire keeper,” the analyst concluded.

Losing a nightly 20-point scorer coming off a career year for nothing would be a tough pill to swallow. Still, Miami’s core as currently constructed was only good enough for a 10th-place finish (43-39) in a wide-open Eastern Conference.

With teams like Charlotte, the Indiana Pacers, and perhaps even the Washington Wizards poised to take major steps forward in the East next season, re-signing Powell appears unlikely to move the needle, barring a league-altering blockbuster trade.

Chet Holmgren capped off a nightmarish Western Conference finals series against the San Antonio Spurs by disappearing in the Oklahoma City Thunder’s 111-103 Game 7 home loss on Saturday.

After being dominated by Spurs superstar Victor Wembanyama, Holmgren sidestepped a question about their individual rivalry, keeping the focus on his team. The All-Star big man’s passive comments irked former NBA star Joe Johnson, who went in on Holmgren for his lack of personal accountability following his critical no-show.

Joe Johnson Calls Out Chet Holmgren’s Timid Game 7 vs. Spurs, Postgame Deflection

Boasting home-court advantage, Holmgren and Co. had a prime opportunity to close out San Antonio and advance to their second straight NBA Finals. While OKC superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander showed up in Game 7, logging a game-high 35 points behind his tough bucket-getting ability, his supporting cast withered under the bright lights.

Holmgren, in particular, had a muted impact, as the 7-foot-1 big man finished with just 4 points and 4 rebounds on 1-for-2 shooting (50%), with both of his field-goal attempts coming in the contest’s first two and a half minutes.

Despite recently earning his first All-NBA selection, Holmgren repeatedly shied away from offensive opportunities, not attempting a single shot in the second half as he often lingered in the corners, bobbled passes, and showed no signs of aggressiveness.

The Thunder standout watched hopelessly as Wembanyama’s 22-point, 7-rebound effort, combined with impressive shot-making from the Spurs’ complementary players, sent his squad home.

MORE:‘Stop Calling SGA a Flopper’ — 4-Time NBA Champion Defends Thunder Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

When asked postgame about Wembanyama seemingly trying to get in his head with increased physicality, including bumps after plays, Holmgren shifted the focus back to OKC.

“At the end of the day, it’s always about us trying to win the basketball game, us as a collective, the Thunder team trying to win the basketball game, and that’s what it’s always going to be,” Holmgren said, looking dejected.

On Sunday’s edition of “Nightcap,” Johnson slammed the 2025 NBA champion’s mindset, arguing that he made life easy on Wembanyama.

“Hell, you played right into his damn hands,” Johnson began. “I don’t give a damn ’cause he blocked your shot a time or two, you gotta keep going at that man’s neck, bro, because the times that I thought Chet was catching the ball, he wasn’t even looking at the goal, man.”

The seven-time All-Star also accused Holmgren of dodging accountability for his shortcomings.

“Accountability is everything, fellas, this is what we always talk about. This is why Shai is who he is, and Chet had to know, bro, that that man had smoke with him just by the competition level,” Johnson continued.

“You can tell when you walk out there on the court or previous interactions that we’ve been into, like, bro, you’ve gotta bring it tonight. … He didn’t answer the call, fellas. He didn’t answer the call, and I don’t like all that ‘We, we’ neither. I like for you to take accountability and be like, ‘Bro, I gotta be better.'”

Across seven West finals outings, Holmgren averaged 10.7 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks per game, shooting 51.0%. With his five-year, $239,250,000 max contract extension set to kick in next season, questions have already begun mounting about whether the Thunder may be best served to shop the 24-year-old for a more effective Wembanyama stopper this offseason.

The Indiana Fever signed veteran coach Stephanie White in 2024 to lead a young but talented team featuring top picks Caitlin Clark and Aliyah Boston, along with No. 2 pick Kelsey Mitchell.

After an injury-ridden 2025 season in which White led the team to the semifinals, the Fever picked up steam early this time around, winning four of their first six games. However, their recent two-game road trip went sour, with back-to-back defeats to Golden State (90-88) and Portland (100-84).

Indiana not only dropped to 4-4, but Clark and White also had a tense moment during the Fire matchup.

Cheryl Miller Weighs In on Stephanie White-Caitlin Clark In-Game Tension

The incident occurred during the timeout in the game vs. Portland, when White and Clark were spotted arguing in the huddle, presumably over a defensive sequence that had gone awry.

Clark said something that set White off. White angrily told Clark to get off the bench and asked rookie Raven Johnson to take the guard’s seat.

A visibly frustrated Clark stood, shook her head, and looked as if she were about to leave the huddle, but stopped at the last second, realizing it might further disrupt the team’s rhythm.

The incident went viral, and WNBA legends turned analysts Cheryl Miller and Sue Bird weighed in, with the former USC star suggesting it stemmed primarily from frustration with the team’s failure to execute plays on the road.

“Right now, it’s frustration. And unfortunately, it’s boiling over, and it’s being seen,” Miller said. “It’s one thing to have it behind closed doors, but (it’s another thing) when it spills over, and when the coach has to basically say, ‘You know what Caitlin, enough is enough, this is too disruptive, in and out, take a seat.'”

Meanwhile, Bird, apparently anticipating the fans’ and the media’s ability to blow the incident out of proportion in the coming days, seemed to douse the fiery exchange with cold water.

However, she agreed with Miller’s take that the exchange stemmed from frustration.

“I agree. I think it’s frustration,” Bird said. “It’s also, like, not that crazy. This isn’t the first time we’ve seen this. It doesn’t have some deep meaning to it. I’ve had moments like that with coaches. I think it speaks to player-coach relationships.”

SEE ALSO:‘Our Typical Substitution Pattern’ – Stephanie White Reveals Why Fever Subbed Out Caitlin Clark Early In Loss to Fire

White has long been known in league circles as a fiery, intense coach who gets the best out of her team. Having guided Indiana to the 2015 WNBA Finals, her impressive regular-season head-coaching record across her stints in Indiana and Connecticut speaks volumes about her caliber.

The in-game friction between White and Clark on Saturday was intense, with some fans also suggesting it was driven by their desire to win.

However, they have to be on the same page on Thursday as they play the Atlanta Dream (5-2) in hopes of getting back their momentum.