On June 6 , according to a report by well-known NBA reporter Michael Scotto in HoopsHype, the Los Angeles Clippers are not in a hurry to reach a contract extension with guard Norman Powell. Although Powell played the best performance of his career this season and is eligible to sign a 4-year contract extension worth $128.5 million this summer, the Clippers management has decided to postpone the renewal of his contract after comprehensively evaluating the team's future salary structure and lineup flexibility.

According to the current contract situation, Powell has one year left on his current contract with the Clippers, with a salary of $ 20.48 million in the 2025-26 season . This above-average contract is not only cost-effective, but also has operational value in the potential trading market. Therefore, the Clippers hope to retain flexibility in order to observe Powell's performance in the next season and make a more accurate judgment at the right time.

According to internal sources, the Clippers are currently making strategic plans for the overall lineup for the next few seasons, with a particular focus on the reshaping of the salary structure in the summer of 2027. According to the existing contract arrangement, Zubac's $ 21 million contract for the 2027-28 season will be the only guaranteed contract at that time. This means that the Clippers will have a lot of room for salary manipulation in the summer of 2028 , and can choose to continue to strengthen the current core lineup or switch to a rebuilding mode based on the actual situation of the team. Because of this, Powell's contract extension has been temporarily shelved.

From a statistical perspective, Powell's performance in the regular season this season is undoubtedly impressive. In an average of 27.6 minutes per game, he can contribute 21.8 points, 3.2 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.2 steals, and his three-point shooting rate is as high as 41.8% , making him one of the most stable firepower points on the outside of the Clippers lineup. However, in the playoffs, Powell's performance declined, with his average points per game dropping to 16.0 points, and his rebounds, assists and steals also falling slightly, failing to meet the team's expectations in high-intensity games.

This performance difference of " regular season is better than playoffs " has also affected the Clippers' management's assessment of his future value to a certain extent. Especially in the context of fierce competition in the playoffs, where every round is crucial, the team has higher requirements for the stability of core rotation players and their performance in key moments.

In addition, considering the structure of Powell's current contract and his role positioning, if the Clippers intend to introduce other stars in the 2025 offseason or in the middle of the 2025-26 season, this contract also has good matching and operation space. Therefore, for the Clippers, retaining this asset and maintaining transaction flexibility is obviously more in line with the current strategic interests than immediately renewing the contract in advance.