Adam Simon discusses Kel'el Ware draft pick: 'He's going to give us versatility on both ends'

For over the last half-decade, the Miami Heat has struggled to find a consistently impactful frontcourt option to pair with Bam Adebayo. Well, they threw another dart at the board Wednesday night, selecting center Kel’el Ware (Indiana) with the No. 15 pick in the 2024 NBA Draft.

Heat vice president of basketball operations and assistant general manager Adam Simon spoke to the media Wednesday evening after the pick was made, holding very high praise for the athletic 7-footer.

“[Kel’el Ware] is a 3-and-D center,” Simon said. “It is not easy to find 7-footers who play out on the perimeter offensively and also be able to defend with his ability to shot bock and the post. For us, that was very appealing.

“He’s going to give us versatility on both ends and I think his skillset fits us. The things he does well are going to be things that [head coach Erik Spoelstra] is going to be able to use. I think it’s a great fit. To be able to block shots, defend the rim, shoot 3s and he’s got a great touch in the post–I think a lot of his skillset will be great to play with [Bam Adebayo] and as well as Bam’s off the court.”

Ware, 20, averaged 15.9 points, 9.9 rebounds and 1.9 blocks in 32.2 minutes per game with Indiana under former NBA head coach Mike Woodson. The former Hoosier shot 58.6 percent from the floor and 42.5 percent from 3-point range, albeit on very low volume.

Ware took only 12.5 percent of his shot attempts from 3-point range as a sophomore–over 17 percentage points lower than as a freshman at Oregon (29.6 3PAr), where he converted on just 27.3 percent of his long-range attempts. He was an inconsistent free-throw shooter, too, netting 66.0 percent of his 200 career free throws.

Though Simon and the Heat brass are optimistic about Ware’s floor as a 3-point shooter, even though it’s going to need development as time progresses.

“He’s a willing shooter,” Simon said. “You look at his stroke–very fluid, very easy. There were opportunities where he used ball fakes to get defenders off him and then pull it and take a 3. How he played for Coach Woodson at Indiana, a lot of it was in the post; a lot of it was lob threat action. He didn’t have a lot of attempts–40–but he’s a threat.

“We feel like his shot is good now. Obviously, we’re going to work on it with him to get it even better. But being comfortable shooting 3s at this point: Definitely a plus.”

The trio of draft selections ahead of Ware was Nikola Topic (Thunder), Devin Carter (Kings; son of former Heat player/assistant Anthony Carter) and Bub Carrington (Wizards). Dalton Knecht, a consensus top-10 prospect, plus Jared McCain and Tristan da Silva were still on the board when it was Miami’s turn to pick.

Though Simon disclosed Wednesday that Ware–who tested unbelievably well at the 2024 NBA Draft Combine and was the No. 18 prospect on consensus databases–was “absolutely” higher than No. 15 on their board.

Simon even discussed the possibility of moving into the lottery to draft Ware with the uncertainty of not knowing if another team had him high on their respective boards.

“We weren’t sure if Kel’el would get to us,” he said. “We were looking at different options to potentially move up. But when he was there — when there were a couple picks left — we felt there was a good chance for him to get to us. Certainly, we were excited by that.”

Ware had a very shaky start to his college career at Oregon, where he was allegedly called “lazy” due to his lack of consistent motor and effort. He helped shore up those concerns under Woodson at Indiana, but that was the biggest knock on him ahead of the pre-draft process.

“I think that’s a low-hanging fruit of him,” Simon said. “Kel’el is not that. I think he went to Oregon, was playing behind an established, older player. He played in every game out there and saw a better situation for himself to go to Indiana.

“I think, for him, he showed what can do. He played with a motor. He played with intensity. I think we’re talking about a young player that has an edge to him. … I think he has shown that he can come out and put points on the board, block shots, rebounds. To me, he doesn’t seem like a player that fits that description.”