It’s not easy being the new guy in the NBA, even in the most welcoming of environments, and that’s especially true for players acquired midseason. From picking up and moving, sometimes across the country and with little advanced notice, to figuring out a new role in a new system in the middle of a playoff race to traversing personalities, egos and competing interests in the locker room, the issues that arise when changing teams in a competitive league are typically a bit uncomfortable, at best.
So while Norman Powell joining the Trail Blazers midway through the 2020-21 season after spending his first five years with the Raptors went about as well as could be expected, it wasn’t an integration without issue.