Our e[xit interview series](https://213hoops.com/2025-clippers-exit-interviews-kai-jones/) on the 2025 Clippers continues with a look at Norm Powell, the Clippers’ starting shooting guard.
#### **Basic Information**
**Height**: 6’3
**Weight**: 215 pounds
**Position**: Shooting Guard
**Age**: 31 (turns 32 next week)
**Years in NBA**: 10
**Key Regular Stats (for Clippers)**: 21.8 points, 2.1 assists, 3.2 rebounds, 1.2 steals, and 1.8 turnovers in 32.6 minutes per game across 60 games played (all starts) on 48.4/41.8/80.4 (7.1 3PT attempts, 4.4 FT attempts) shooting splits (61.5 True Shooting)
**Postseason Stats**: 16 points, 2.4 assists, 2.4 rebounds, 1.1 steals, and 1.7 turnovers in 34 minutes per game across 7 games played (all starts) on 47.2/35.0/77.8 (5.7 3PT attempts, 2.6 FT attempts) shooting splits (57.8 True Shooting)
#### **Expectations**
Coming into the season, it was expected that Norm Powell would once again fulfill the 6th man role he’d held on the Clippers his first 2.5 years with the team. After all, he’d started just 13 of his 141 regular season games with the Clippers, and the Clips added Derrick Jones Jr., Kris Dunn, and Nic Batum in free agency as well as gave a large extension to Terance Mann. Norm providing his usual scoring punch off the bench while the Clippers surrounded James Harden and Ivica Zubac with defense-first role players seemed to be the logical step.
#### **Reality**
Those expectations were almost immediately obliterated in training camp, when it was reported Norm was running away with the starting shooting guard role. Sure enough, when the season started, Norm was in the starting lineup – and he remained there the entire season. In fact, this was the first season of Norm’s career where he started every game he played. Norm was a rock in that unit all season, providing shooting and off-ball play to support the Clippers’ base play of the Harden-Zu pick and roll.
Norm, in fact, had a mostly incredible regular season. He set a career high in scoring, tied career highs in assists and steals, and was just a hair shy of his career-best in rebounding. Norm’s three-point shooting was, as always, fantastic, with his close to 42% on high volume providing essential spacing for the Clippers’ shaky offensive attack. He was more decisive in attacking close-outs, going straight to the rim instead of pulling up from midrange or trying to bait free throws. The passing and playmaking were still below average, but showed flashes of being better than years prior. Even the defense, was, for the first half of the season, improved – though still not great. In the absence of Kawhi Leonard, Norm was the Clippers’ second banana on offense, and he did an admirable job in keeping the team afloat. There was [even a credible case](https://clutchpoints.com/nba/los-angeles-clippers/clippers-news-norman-powell-nba-all-star-this-season-numbers-back-up) he should make the All-Star Game.
Unfortunately, Norm missed a large chunk of February and March due to injury, and when he came back, he was not nearly as effective. Some of that was on Norm missing shots and being rusty, but a lot of it had to do with the Clippers becoming a different team during his month-long absence, with Kawhi taking up a bigger mantle and Zu turning into a true third option. When Norm returned, he was indecisive, not fully adjusting to his new role as more of the 4th option instead of the 2nd option which he’d been for the first 50 games of the season. In March and April, Norm averaged just 14.4 points per game on sub-par efficiency.
Even worse, that poor play carried over into the playoffs. Norm was excellent in the Clippers’ three home games, but was abysmal in the four road games, and his poor play was a huge reason the Clippers lost in the first round. Norm was outmatched physically by the larger, more athletic Nuggets, and his defense and rebounding were massive issues that the Nuggets exploited. Norm’s scoring, his bedrock, not translating to the playoffs made his lack of contributions in other areas all the more glaring. It was a tough, tough end to the season for Norm, who’d been such a key element for the Clippers all year.
#### **Future with Clippers**
Norm has just one year left on his 5 year, $90M deal that he was signed to by the Blazers back in 2021. The fact that he’s an expiring deal, along with his age and the Clippers’ uncertain near-term and medium-term future, makes him a ripe trade candidate. The Clippers said at the end of the season they would talk with Norm on an extension, and I’m sure conversations will happen. However, Norm will probably want multiple years to add on to his current deal, and I just don’t see the Clippers giving him those years considering they want to clear their books for the summers of 2026 and 2027 for free agency. That said, despite all their talks and the rumors about free agency, stars rarely change teams in free agency anymore. The only star who did last summer was Paul George… and we all saw how that turned out. Getting cap space to enable more flexibility and the ability to take on money in exchange for picks or prospects is a good thing for a team that might need to enter a rebuild at some point, but the Clippers don’t seem particularly interested in a rebuild even if they did have their picks. I do wonder if a medium-sized, two-year extension for Norm gives the Clippers a movable salary for trades – which is how stars actually go between teams in the modern NBA. The danger, of course, is that Norm slips from his career 2025 season, and a seemingly reasonable extension immediately looks like a bad deal.
Ultimately, this is the summer I think it’s most likely Norm gets traded since he’s been a Clipper. If the Clippers are going to make almost any major move, Norm’s deal is close to necessary to make it happen. While he’s had a good run with the Clippers, and I don’t think the team will trade him just to trade him, I do think further roster adjustments need to happen, and the Clippers getting bigger, younger, and more athletic is a must. With that thinking, trading a small, aging guard makes some sense. Still, it’s not like Norm is a lock to get moved, and there’s every chance he is on the Clippers to start the 2026 season.