Norman Powell is the Clippers’ wild card: ‘I want to be an All-Star. I want to get to that level’
In a season full of theatrical events that led to drastic adjustments, nothing was quite like the spectacle of Norman Powell’s time with the LA Clippers in 2021-22.
A week before the NBA trade deadline in February, Powell, along with power forward Robert Covington, arrived to the Clippers via the Trail Blazers as part of a trade that sent point guard Eric Bledsoe, power forward Justise Winslow and rookie shooting guard Keon Johnson to Portland. The Clippers also parted with a future second-round pick to complete the transaction.
Powell spent the first half of the season playing in a Portland offense that had elements of a Clippers offense, due in part to former Clippers assistant Chauncey Billups taking over as Trail Blazers head coach. When Powell arrived, the Clippers were at a point in their season where they were just thrilled to have another scoring option while Paul George was nursing a torn ligament in his right elbow and Kawhi Leonard was rehabbing from knee surgery.
“We never thought it was realistic for us to get a player like Norm Powell for a team that won’t have salary cap space for a long, long, long time,” Clippers president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank said in February. “It’s really, really hard to get players like Norm, who are under a long-term deal, who are in their prime.”
Before LA acquired Powell, the Clippers had struggled mightily to get to the free-throw line with Tyronn Lue as head coach, whether the offense was good or not. The 26th-ranked Clippers’ offense ranked 27th in free-throw attempt rate. In 2020-21, Lue’s first season as head coach, the third-ranked Clippers’ offense was 27th in free-throw attempts.
Powell, despite averaging only 13.6 field-goal attempts per game with Portland, averaged 5.0 free-throw attempts in 40 games with the Trail Blazers. Powell’s free-throw attempt rate alone seemed like a panacea for the Clippers, and they were getting a player who was under contract through 2026.
But a week after the trade, Powell was injured in Dallas. Though Powell would return on April 6, nearly two months after he suffered a fractured bone in his left foot, it threw his debut season with the Clippers through a loop. His entire tenure with the team was an exercise in trying to reintegrate himself, first with a new team and later with a recovering body.
Powell’s five regular-season games with the Clippers went thusly:
Debuted off the bench with 28 points in blowout loss to Milwaukee Bucks
Entered starting lineup, scored 16 points in blowout road loss to Memphis Grizzlies
Scored 19 points, suffered fractured medial sesamoid bone in left foot in road loss to Dallas Mavericks
Returned after a 54-day absence to score 24 points off the bench in a win over Phoenix Suns
Scored 20 points off the bench in win over Kings, the only game with both George and Luke Kennard
Despite the start-and-stop nature of those five regular-season games, Powell found a way to score 107 points in 125 minutes. That’s a 36-minute average of 30.8 points, with a usage rate of “only” 29.5 percent. For comparison’s sake, Joel Embiid averaged 30.6 points per game this season to lead the NBA, and he also led the NBA with a usage rate of 37.5 percent.
The Play-In Tournament games were more of a struggle for Powell. He was out of place on both ends of the floor in a fourth-quarter letdown in Minnesota, followed by uncharacteristic inefficiency against New Orleans.
Powell was brought in to bridge the gap during George’s injury and then had to return and get back up to speed alongside George in the final week of the regular season. Now, Powell can look forward to a full offseason to get healthy and be ready for a training camp that includes a healthy Leonard and George.
“With Norm being able to get us up on track, learning the plays, learning our system, what we’re trying to do, we can be special,” Lue said after the Pelicans eliminated the Clippers on April 15.
Powell’s connection to George and Leonard is meaningful as well in terms of building a team and needing those intangibles to carry over. In 2018-19, the NBA champion Toronto Raptors were 29-9 in games that both Leonard and Powell played, with the Raptors outscoring foes by 6.6 points per 100 possessions in 215 regular-season minutes. Those two almost matched their regular-season minutes during the 2019 postseason, proving to be even more effective together as the Raptors outscored their opponents by 15.6 points per 100 possessions in 196 postseason minutes.
This season, George and Powell, unfortunately, spent more time rehabbing together than playing together.
“We saw each other in the gym, being positive, especially during PG’s ramp-up stage,” Powell said of being in the rehab space with George and Leonard upon his return this month. “Just talking to him, seeing how he was feeling, where he was at in the process, where he is, how everything is going. I think we’ve all done a great job of that. Anytime we see each other, we’re asking to make sure everybody’s spirits are up or we’re progressing the right way.”
Despite the Clippers collapsing in the Play-In Tournament, the 20 minutes that Powell shared on the court with George were an overall success, with the Clippers outscoring the Timberwolves, 47-44. Powell and George also saw the floor together for two meaningless regular-season games in April. During that stint, the Clippers outscored the Suns and Kings, 52-30, in the 16 minutes that George and Powell were on the floor together.
“Playing along PG, it still doesn’t seem real me,” Powell said of George. “He was a guy that I looked up to growing up. A guy, we had some battles in Toronto in the playoffs, and early on in my career, he gave me some words of encouragement – my rookie year, that stuck with me. So being able to play alongside him, and Kawhi when he gets back healthy, it’s going to be fun. So I’m looking forward to that. I had a great time out there with the guys, so just looking to build.”
Powell, who signed his new five-year contract in August, will be fascinating to watch with the Clippers. At 6 foot 3, his best position is shooting guard. He has never averaged more than the 2.1 assists per game he averaged this season (2.8 with the Clippers), and he is not a plus-rebounder, despite starting at small forward in Portland.
Powell could be the fulcrum of the Clippers’ second unit offensively while being a possible starter whenever George and/or Leonard are out. The fit with Kennard is intriguing; though the Clippers lost three of the four games that Powell and Kennard played together. On the flip side, the Clippers outscored foes by 12 points in the 50 minutes that Powell and Kennard were on the court together. They are complementary talents.
When it comes to the Clippers needing another point guard, Frank has commonly referred to Clippers personnel as either “play-starters, play-finishers (and) connectors.” Powell is in that play-initiator group, along with Leonard, George, Reggie Jackson and Terance Mann. Even though Powell’s sample size in a Clippers uniform is small so far, Frank is encouraged about the completeness of Powell’s game.
“You think about his first three games, right out of the gate, outstanding,” Frank said of Powell at his end-of-season availability. “You saw like on-ball juice, three-level scorer, ability to get to the free-throw line, ability to guard the ball. He made some more drive-and-kick plays right before he got injured. He got some good off-ball defensive plays, and unfortunately for him, whap, he loses all the time with the foot injury …
“You have an in-his-prime scorer, on-ball defender who gives us another on-ball engine. We’re super excited.”
Powell turns 29 in May, so his timeline fits with George and Leonard. Powell is right in the prime of his career. Getting him for a full season is yet another reason why the Clippers will look significantly different than the team that saw the floor during the 2021-22 NBA season.
Powell believes he has another level to get to as well.
“I train to be one of the best,” Powell says. “I want to be in a position where PG and Kawhi are at. That’s what I train to be. I want to be an All-Star. I want to get to that level. I want to achieve everything I can and get everything I can out of this. That’s why I push myself so hard, that’s why I work so hard.
“I think I’m ready for that, being that role as a primary guy. That’s what I go out there and try to prove every single night that I can hold my own against the best in the world, but also, it’s about winning for me. Not only achieving those individual goals but achieving them as a team is what’s most important.”
Norman Powell is the Clippers’ wild card: ‘I want to be an All-Star. I want to get to that level’
In a season full of theatrical events that led to drastic adjustments, nothing was quite like the spectacle of Norman Powell’s time with the LA Clippers in 2021-22.
A week before the NBA trade deadline in February, Powell, along with power forward Robert Covington, arrived to the Clippers via the Trail Blazers as part of a trade that sent point guard Eric Bledsoe, power forward Justise Winslow and rookie shooting guard Keon Johnson to Portland. The Clippers also parted with a future second-round pick to complete the transaction.
Powell spent the first half of the season playing in a Portland offense that had elements of a Clippers offense, due in part to former Clippers assistant Chauncey Billups taking over as Trail Blazers head coach. When Powell arrived, the Clippers were at a point in their season where they were just thrilled to have another scoring option while Paul George was nursing a torn ligament in his right elbow and Kawhi Leonard was rehabbing from knee surgery.
“We never thought it was realistic for us to get a player like Norm Powell for a team that won’t have salary cap space for a long, long, long time,” Clippers president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank said in February. “It’s really, really hard to get players like Norm, who are under a long-term deal, who are in their prime.”
Before LA acquired Powell, the Clippers had struggled mightily to get to the free-throw line with Tyronn Lue as head coach, whether the offense was good or not. The 26th-ranked Clippers’ offense ranked 27th in free-throw attempt rate. In 2020-21, Lue’s first season as head coach, the third-ranked Clippers’ offense was 27th in free-throw attempts.
Powell, despite averaging only 13.6 field-goal attempts per game with Portland, averaged 5.0 free-throw attempts in 40 games with the Trail Blazers. Powell’s free-throw attempt rate alone seemed like a panacea for the Clippers, and they were getting a player who was under contract through 2026.
But a week after the trade, Powell was injured in Dallas. Though Powell would return on April 6, nearly two months after he suffered a fractured bone in his left foot, it threw his debut season with the Clippers through a loop. His entire tenure with the team was an exercise in trying to reintegrate himself, first with a new team and later with a recovering body.
Powell’s five regular-season games with the Clippers went thusly:
Debuted off the bench with 28 points in blowout loss to Milwaukee Bucks
Entered starting lineup, scored 16 points in blowout road loss to Memphis Grizzlies
Scored 19 points, suffered fractured medial sesamoid bone in left foot in road loss to Dallas Mavericks
Returned after a 54-day absence to score 24 points off the bench in a win over Phoenix Suns
Scored 20 points off the bench in win over Kings, the only game with both George and Luke Kennard
Despite the start-and-stop nature of those five regular-season games, Powell found a way to score 107 points in 125 minutes. That’s a 36-minute average of 30.8 points, with a usage rate of “only” 29.5 percent. For comparison’s sake, Joel Embiid averaged 30.6 points per game this season to lead the NBA, and he also led the NBA with a usage rate of 37.5 percent.
The Play-In Tournament games were more of a struggle for Powell. He was out of place on both ends of the floor in a fourth-quarter letdown in Minnesota, followed by uncharacteristic inefficiency against New Orleans.
Powell was brought in to bridge the gap during George’s injury and then had to return and get back up to speed alongside George in the final week of the regular season. Now, Powell can look forward to a full offseason to get healthy and be ready for a training camp that includes a healthy Leonard and George.
“With Norm being able to get us up on track, learning the plays, learning our system, what we’re trying to do, we can be special,” Lue said after the Pelicans eliminated the Clippers on April 15.
Powell’s connection to George and Leonard is meaningful as well in terms of building a team and needing those intangibles to carry over. In 2018-19, the NBA champion Toronto Raptors were 29-9 in games that both Leonard and Powell played, with the Raptors outscoring foes by 6.6 points per 100 possessions in 215 regular-season minutes. Those two almost matched their regular-season minutes during the 2019 postseason, proving to be even more effective together as the Raptors outscored their opponents by 15.6 points per 100 possessions in 196 postseason minutes.
This season, George and Powell, unfortunately, spent more time rehabbing together than playing together.
“We saw each other in the gym, being positive, especially during PG’s ramp-up stage,” Powell said of being in the rehab space with George and Leonard upon his return this month. “Just talking to him, seeing how he was feeling, where he was at in the process, where he is, how everything is going. I think we’ve all done a great job of that. Anytime we see each other, we’re asking to make sure everybody’s spirits are up or we’re progressing the right way.”
Despite the Clippers collapsing in the Play-In Tournament, the 20 minutes that Powell shared on the court with George were an overall success, with the Clippers outscoring the Timberwolves, 47-44. Powell and George also saw the floor together for two meaningless regular-season games in April. During that stint, the Clippers outscored the Suns and Kings, 52-30, in the 16 minutes that George and Powell were on the floor together.
“Playing along PG, it still doesn’t seem real me,” Powell said of George. “He was a guy that I looked up to growing up. A guy, we had some battles in Toronto in the playoffs, and early on in my career, he gave me some words of encouragement – my rookie year, that stuck with me. So being able to play alongside him, and Kawhi when he gets back healthy, it’s going to be fun. So I’m looking forward to that. I had a great time out there with the guys, so just looking to build.”
Powell, who signed his new five-year contract in August, will be fascinating to watch with the Clippers. At 6 foot 3, his best position is shooting guard. He has never averaged more than the 2.1 assists per game he averaged this season (2.8 with the Clippers), and he is not a plus-rebounder, despite starting at small forward in Portland.
Powell could be the fulcrum of the Clippers’ second unit offensively while being a possible starter whenever George and/or Leonard are out. The fit with Kennard is intriguing; though the Clippers lost three of the four games that Powell and Kennard played together. On the flip side, the Clippers outscored foes by 12 points in the 50 minutes that Powell and Kennard were on the court together. They are complementary talents.
When it comes to the Clippers needing another point guard, Frank has commonly referred to Clippers personnel as either “play-starters, play-finishers (and) connectors.” Powell is in that play-initiator group, along with Leonard, George, Reggie Jackson and Terance Mann. Even though Powell’s sample size in a Clippers uniform is small so far, Frank is encouraged about the completeness of Powell’s game.
“You think about his first three games, right out of the gate, outstanding,” Frank said of Powell at his end-of-season availability. “You saw like on-ball juice, three-level scorer, ability to get to the free-throw line, ability to guard the ball. He made some more drive-and-kick plays right before he got injured. He got some good off-ball defensive plays, and unfortunately for him, whap, he loses all the time with the foot injury …
“You have an in-his-prime scorer, on-ball defender who gives us another on-ball engine. We’re super excited.”
Powell turns 29 in May, so his timeline fits with George and Leonard. Powell is right in the prime of his career. Getting him for a full season is yet another reason why the Clippers will look significantly different than the team that saw the floor during the 2021-22 NBA season.
Powell believes he has another level to get to as well.
“I train to be one of the best,” Powell says. “I want to be in a position where PG and Kawhi are at. That’s what I train to be. I want to be an All-Star. I want to get to that level. I want to achieve everything I can and get everything I can out of this. That’s why I push myself so hard, that’s why I work so hard.
“I think I’m ready for that, being that role as a primary guy. That’s what I go out there and try to prove every single night that I can hold my own against the best in the world, but also, it’s about winning for me. Not only achieving those individual goals but achieving them as a team is what’s most important.”
