Miami Heat fans have known for a while that the trade price the team paid for Norman Powell this summer was an absurd bargain. NBA insiders could sense that, too.
Still, it's been encouraging to see the first few games of the new campaign provide proof of concept. Powell looks every bit like the All-Star candidate that the Los Angeles Clippers witnessed this past season.
The same All-Star candidate that Miami somehow acquired for the deeply (and bizarrely) discounted cost of Kyle Anderson and Kevin Love over the offseason. While the Clippers clearly had some reservations about Powell's impending payday (unrestricted free agency awaits him after this season), the Heat made the wise move of giving him another chance to show he's worth it.