Comments on: 2023 Clippers Exit Interview: Norman Powell

By: chogokin

chogokin — Fri, 12 May 2023 02:41:06 +0000

I mean, it depends on what the return for him is. Norm is definitely a good player, and I give the FO props for getting him for essentially nothing (though the fact that we drafted Keon that high and signed Justise to begin with isn’t exactly a positive data point…), but he’s definitely not untouchable – hell, nobody on our roster should be at this point.

By: Jpo805

Jpo805 — Thu, 11 May 2023 22:25:12 +0000

I’m probably in the minority here but I would trade Norm. While he is an efficient scorer, his play doesn’t make the team better. His defense, passing and BBIQ leave a lot to be desired.

Trade Norm and let Boston Jr take the reigns as the backup shooting guard next season. He’s coming into his 3rd year so the Clips should give him an extended look next season (at least to the trade deadline) to see what they’ve got.

By: Robert Flom

Robert Flom — Thu, 11 May 2023 22:20:27 +0000

This all sounds good but Norm is going to be 30. The odds he improves at much of anything significant as an NBA player are low

By: Robert Flom

Robert Flom — Thu, 11 May 2023 22:18:11 +0000

I don’t think I’d go so far as “must keep”, but yeah I doubt the Clippers could get a ton of value for him so he’ll probably be back

By: John Maclean

John Maclean — Thu, 11 May 2023 21:38:27 +0000

If we’re running it back then Norm is an absolute must keep–unless he’s part of a package for a perennial allstar (unlikely that trade opportunity presents itself). We’re seeing how the lack of continuity will probably be what derails the Suns this year so if we’re not blowing it up we need to look to ADD pieces to what we already have not swap apples for oranges. Norm should definitely be part of the run it back core, although I think he would have value to some true contender like a Denver if they fall short this year.

By: mlslaw1

mlslaw1 — Thu, 11 May 2023 18:28:37 +0000

Yeah, Norm’s a keeper for sure. I’d also say that Norm makes EG pretty redundant. If I’m Norm, I’d work on 1) cutting down TOs by being a more reliable ball handler/passer 2) make smarter decisions 3) continue to focus on D and 4) being more reliable at the line.

By: khyber jones

khyber jones — Thu, 11 May 2023 14:51:58 +0000

The write-up neatly summarizes why I was hot and cold on Norm throughout the season: alpha scorer, but does he give you much else and is he a net liability on the court when his defense is underwhelming as an undersized #2? In addition, he has missed time for the Clippers due to injury, often when he has found a rhythm and is in good form. In the first part of the season, I would’ve preferred Luke over Norm b/c of playmaking, size and shooting efficiency, but Ty chose neither for the most part.

All that said, I’ve become a believer in Norm based on how he played in Jan/Feb when he was put into the 6th man convos and especially following his last injury recovery through Round 1 of the playoffs.

He’s a legit alpha scorer in this league and he competed on defense and made better decisions in the last 2-3 weeks of the regular season and the playoffs. His monster 40+ pt game 3 vs the Suns was big time. Had the refs not screwed the Clippers over hard in that game, he would’ve delivered the win. If we had gotten that series to 2-2 we could’ve beaten the Suns.

The Clippers don’t need a 3rd scorer b/c they have one on their roster and he costs less than 20M/yr. Few teams are in that position. Look at how much GSW has to pay Wiggins and Klay. Look at how much the Lakers have to pay D-Lo and what Reaves will cost. We’ve got Norm under contract at less than 20M. Don’t look that gift horse in the mouth.

I think the issue with Norm is more about coaching. I think Norm’s bad defensive data points owe a lot to being played in 3-4 guard lineups. He also makes a lot of bad decisions on individual match up defense, but I saw a guy towards the end of the season who knows he can get better on that end and will work to do it. I don’t think this coaching staff really emphasized defense and didn’t put in the work with him earlier in the season.

Secondly, when you have an alpha scorer like Norm, you have to get him touches and get him going. He’ll generate his own looks off of fast break opportunities, but I saw many stretches in half court sets where the ball did not swing his way. He has to touch the ball b/c we have enough raw data and eye test data to know that once he reaches a threshold number of touches, he’s going to go off. Game 4 vs Phx was one of those examples where he had a struggle to start and got into foul trouble. However, it felt like he was just at the verge of going off but was simply ignored by Russ much of the time when swinging to the corner would’ve moved the defense and given the Clippers more options.

The biggest reason to stick with Norm, help him improve his overall floor game and elevate him is we have to assume that Kawhi + PG are not going to play more than 50 regular season games and will miss at least 1 round of playoffs. The team has to have 2 layers: one with PG/Kawhi and one without. Norm fits in both scenarios. That’s a valuable guy to have on your roster.