Big man Kevin Love’s stint as a member of the Miami Heat organization has come to a close with a move Miami made on Monday. In a three-team trade, the Heat agreed to trade Love along with another forward, Kyle Anderson, to the Utah Jazz. In return, they will receive none other than guard Norman Powell from the Los Angeles Clippers.
BREAKING: The Clippers, Jazz and Heat have agreed to a trade that sends Norman Powell to Miami, John Collins to Los Angeles, and Kevin Love, Kyle Anderson and a 2027 Clippers second-round pick to the Jazz, sources tell ESPN. pic.twitter.com/o0FkV0o2l8
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 7, 2025
It’s hard not to like the trade from Miami’s side of the coin, as Powell is a major talent upgrade over both Anderson and Love, and he fills a hole on the Heat’s roster in the sense that he can put the ball in the hoop at a high level. Powell is fresh off a 2024-25 campaign with the Clippers during which he scored 20-plus points per game on 48.4 percent shooting from the field and 41.8 percent from 3-point range.
For as much as the Heat seemingly won the trade on paper, insider Tim Reynolds hinted that the team will miss Love’s presence in the locker room. He claimed in a post on X that Heat players listened to “every word” Love said.
Bam is the captain, but make no mistake, the Heat locker room listened to every word this guy said. He had enormous influence. https://t.co/g4mtKZMTZ5
— Tim Reynolds (@ByTimReynolds) July 7, 2025
Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald took to X as well and touched on his past experiences speaking with the power forward.
“There’s great affection for @kevinlove inside Heat offices and rightfully so,” Jackson wrote on X. “He was always inquisitive with me, @ByTimReynolds and @Anthony_Chiang about intricacies of cap, apron etc. His knowledge & sensibilities would be asset in any front office should he pursue that path eventually.”
Love spent the last two-plus seasons in a Heat uniform before he got shipped to the Jazz, and he nearly added another title to his personal collection earlier on in his Heat tenure. He started 18 of the 20 games he played in during the 2023 NBA Playoffs for a Miami squad that made a surprise run to the championship series as the No. 8 seed in the East.
Unfortunately, the Heat’s Cinderella run ended against the Denver Nuggets on the league’s brightest stage, and Love missed out on winning what would have been his second NBA championship.
Love was far removed from his prime years as a member of the Heat, but he still impacted winning as a rebounder in limited minutes. He averaged 5.6 rebounds across 99 total regular-season games played with the Heat franchise while playing just 16.1 minutes per game in that span.