New Bulls Rumors on Norman Powell's Contract As SG Leaves Heat After Giannis Trade in Free Agency

Coming off his first All-Star season, Norman Powell is reportedly cashing in with a free-agent deal from the Chicago Bulls.

Per Shams Charania of ESPN, Powell will sign a two-year, $45 million contract with the Bulls.

Powell seemed more important to the Heat than ever in the wake of their deal to acquire Giannis Antetokounmpo from the Milwaukee Bucks. The move hard-capped Miami at the first apron, with just $18.1 million to fill four roster spots before making any other deals.

The Heat still had Powell's Bird rights, giving them the ability to retain him. Instead, he wound up finding a deal from the Bulls that he preferred.

Despite a successful four-year stint with the Los Angeles Clippers, Powell was traded to the Heat in July 2025 in part because the Clippers wanted to maintain as much long-term cap flexibility as possible.

Powell was coming off a 2024-25 season in which he averaged 21.8 points on 48.4 percent shooting (41.4 percent from three). He carried that performance over to Miami.

The 32-year-old led the Heat in scoring with 21.7 points per game and connected on 38.0 percent of his three-point attempts. He also set career-highs in rebounds (3.5) and assists (2.5).

While his season was overall a success, it was very much a tale of two halves as Powell dealt with injuries post-All-Star break. He played in just 13 games during the second half, averaging 17.5 points on 45.5 percent shooting (31.7 percent from three).

Given Powell's age and after those injury issues, the Heat's decision to let him walk makes some sense as they look to avoid creating potential apron issues with expensive contracts for Antetokounmpo (assuming he extends his deal) and Adebayo already on their books.

It's a big risk because the Heat don't have a lot of outside shooting on the roster after losing Powell and including Tyler Herro in the trade package to Milwaukee for Antetokounmpo.

The Bulls can afford to take this bet because Powell's offensive upside will help as they look to make a playoff push next season.

The Bulls continue to be one of the NBA's most difficult teams to figure out what their plan is. They essentially gave away both Coby White and Ayo Dosunmu last season prior to the trade deadline.

Both of those players wound up getting contracts from their new teams after playing well following the trades.

Now, the Bulls are investing significant money in Powell, who is seven years older than White and Dosunmu, to replace their production at the two-guard spot.

On the one hand, Powell absolutely helps the offense in Chicago around Josh Giddey. He is an efficient three-point shooter on a high volume of attempts behind the arc.

The Bulls don't have a lot of guys who can get a bucket in close and late-game situations, so Powell will provide a boost in that regard.

On the other hand, the Bulls have just made themselves older and more expensive without an obvious direct path to being a playoff contender. Their hope will be Caleb Wilson, the No. 4 pick in the 2026 draft, can develop quickly to form a high-level trio with Powell and Giddey.

Powell is going to make the Bulls better for next season. In an Eastern Conference that has some uncertainty at the top behind the defending NBA champion New York Knicks, maybe Chicago can pull off a surprise run to be a playoff contender in 2026-27.