NBA free agency is reshaping rosters across the league this summer, and former Miami Heat guard Norman Powell is the latest All-Star to find a new home.
Powell has reached an agreement on a two-year contract with the Chicago Bulls that could be valued at up to $45 million, according to a source familiar with the negotiations who spoke to the Associated Press on Wednesday. The Detroit Pistons had also shown interest in Powell, but the Bulls won out. The deal cannot be made official until July 6 at the earliest, and Chicago will hold a team option for the 2027-28 season.
ESPN and the Chicago Sports Network were among the first outlets to report the agreement. Powell had a breakout campaign with Miami this past season, earning his first-ever All-Star selection while averaging 21.7 points across 58 games. Chicago will be his fifth NBA stop, following previous stints with Portland, the Los Angeles Clippers, Toronto, and the Heat.
Miami itself is undergoing a dramatic transformation heading into next season. The Heat acquired Giannis Antetokounmpo in a trade that sent Tyler Herro and others to Milwaukee, meaning the team Powell is leaving looks very different from the one he joined.
Powell is part of a growing wave of All-Stars on the move this offseason. He joins Antetokounmpo, who is going from Milwaukee to Miami; Kawhi Leonard and Brandon Ingram, who swapped teams in a blockbuster deal sending Leonard back to Toronto and Ingram to the Los Angeles Clippers; and LeBron James, who is departing the Los Angeles Lakers for a destination still to be determined.
The scale of player movement among elite talent is striking — of the 62 players who have earned at least one All-Star selection over the past five years, more than half, 32 of them, have switched teams at least once during that stretch.
In another notable signing, Marcus Smart — who won NBA Defensive Player of the Year honors in 2022 — is set to join his fourth team in just 17 months. Smart has agreed to a two-year deal with the Houston Rockets worth approximately $12.7 million, per a source who spoke with the AP. Smart was with Memphis as recently as February 2025, was then traded to Washington to finish that season, and spent the 2025-26 season with the Lakers, where he averaged 9.3 points and started 54 games.
Forward John Collins is also on the move, agreeing to a three-year contract with the Pistons, according to another source with knowledge of the deal. ESPN reported the contract is worth $51 million. Collins will be suiting up for his third different team in three consecutive seasons, having started his career in Atlanta, spent two seasons in Utah through 2024-25, and played for the Clippers last season.
