Clippers guard Norman Powell has been sidelined indefinitely because of a fractured bone in his left foot, the team announced Sunday.
The dynamic two-way veteran joined the Clippers along with forward Robert Covington after a Feb. 4 trade with the Portland Trail Blazers.
In three games with Los Angeles, Powell is averaging 21.0 points, 4.0 assists and 3.0 rebounds while shooting 47.6% from the field and 42.9% from three-point range. He’s also a top-flight defender.
The Clippers parted ways with point guard Eric Bledsoe, reserve forward Justise Winslow and rookie guard Keon Johnson, along with a 2025 second-round draft pick belonging to Detroit, in the trade with Portland.
The Clippers released a statement saying that Powell fractured the medial sesamoid bone and there is no timetable for his return.
Powell averaged 18.7 points, 3.3 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.6 turnovers this season in Portland, and his scoring gives the NBA’s offense a short-term boost — the Clippers have suffered because of long offensive droughts since All-Star forward Paul George was sidelined in December — and a compatibility alongside George and fellow All-Star forward Kawhi Leonard.
Six months after signing a five-year contract worth $80 million that expires following the 2025-26 season — one season after the contracts of George and Leonard are set to run out — Powell, the 28-year-old from San Diego who played at UCLA and won the 2019 championship in Toronto alongside Leonard and Ibaka, looks like a long-term complementary piece. He’s envisioned as a player who can take tough defensive assignments and spot up next to Leonard and George as a three-point shooter.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.