Even though things were slow on the free agent front, the Miami Heat Summer League squad had one to remember.
Miami capped off Summer League going 8-1, including an undefeated 6-0 in Las Vegas that netted them their first Summer League title in franchise history.
It was a collective effort, but one of the biggest contributors was rookie big man Kel’el Ware, drafted No. 15 overall by the Heat in the 2024 NBA Draft. According to a recently published anonymous NBA poll–conducted by Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo, polling 20 combined executives and scouts–Ware earned a few nods for potentially being the draft’s biggest steal.
Among the 19 votes (one abstained), Wizards guard Bub Carrington, drafted No. 14 overall, earned five votes, the most for the question. Ware and Timberwolves rookie Terrance Shannon Jr. earned three votes while Chicago’s Matas Buzelis and Utah’s Kyle Filipowski, a second-round pick–earned two apiece.
Anonymous ESPN Poll suggests Ware could be draft’s biggest steal:
Here’s the complete vote tally from the poll, published earlier this week:
- Bub Carrington, Wizards – 5
- Kel’el Ware, Heat – 3
- Terrence Shannon Jr., Timberwolves – 3
- Matas Buzelis, Bulls – 2
- Dalton Knecht, Lakers – 1
- Cam Spencer, Grizzlies – 1
- Jamal Shead, Raptors – 1
- Jared McCain, 76ers – 1
“It’s undeniable what Ware can do skill-wise,” one voter said. “Based on summer league and what he might become, he has to be considered one of the better picks.”
Ware, Shannon, Knecht, Spencer, Shead and McCain were all non-lottery picks; only Spencer and Shead were the two second-round picks to earn consideration.
Ware was one of the top rookies in Las Vegas, earning All-Summer League first-team honors while alongside rookie Reed Sheppard, Scotty Pippen Jr., Jordan Miller and GG Jackson. ESPN’s Kevin Pelton even labeled him as the NBA’s best rookie during the Vegas Summer League after averaging 18.0 points, 8.3 rebounds and 1.5 blocks in six games.
It will be at least 2-3 seasons before we can be close to making any concrete conclusions regarding this year’s draft class, but what we saw from Ware was encouraging. He’s far from a finished product, but he clearly stood out–positively–in a setting where you want all your best young players to shine.
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Cole Swider signed by Pacers. Oh well.
We knew that would happen. Alondes may be next.
Yup. Couldn’t keep them all. Need to dump Smith and sign Isaiah Stevens.
Another week goes by and no upgrades. I am really hopeful we do more to make this team competitive. Yes, Ware has potential. But, we need more. Why keep Jimmy if we aren’t going all in?
Vacation time. Nobody is working in NBA.
Cole was just signed