One of my biggest questions ahead of training camp, which begins on Tuesday, was how the rookies would fare in their first extended time together outside of Summer League.
We won’t know until time elapses, but what we do know is that Bam Adebayo has already seen growth from rookie Kel’el Ware over the last three months since Ware was drafted.
“I’ve seen [Kel’el Ware] grow from the time he got drafted until now. It’s a good sign that he’s growing already,” Adebayo said during his Media Day session on Monday. “It’s a good sign he’s growing already.”
Adebayo joked that he hopes Ware can get playing time as a rookie because he said during his rookie year, head coach Erik Spoelstra did not play him.
“Hopefully he gets playing time and earn that in training camp,” Adebayo concluded.
The Heat have not had a 7-foot big to potentially play alongside Adebayo since Meyers Leonard, a floor spacer who complemented Adebayo’s offensive game, at the time. There’s no telling whether or not he and Ware will get the same opportunity during Ware’s rookie season.
Ware, drafted No. 15 overall in the 2024 NBA Draft, was one of the best players across the NBA during Summer League, averaging 18.3 points, 8.4 rebounds and 1.9 blocks across eight combined contests.
There’s no question he has the requisite tools to be a successful NBA player, but he wasn’t an efficient 3-point shooter (3-of-15) nor a consistently good drop defender. No player is perfect and will always need little things to improve upon, but the latter will specifically drive Spoelstra mad if that bleeds on the court.
Miami also brought back Kevin Love and Thomas Bryant–not necessarily to start next to their All-Star big, but to alleviate Adebayo in the chance that Ware struggles off the bench as a rookie. Regardless, reps are the most crucial part for a player’s development, so getting reps behind the scenes will be of the utmost importance for Ware during his first training camp and entering the new season.
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Ware will be fine. If he follows the Lively timeline during the season, Miami should be in good shape by the playoffs. I have a feeling that with Bam’s guidance, he will develop even faster.
I expect him to follow something like the JJJ or Jovic timeline. I think he’ll get some good run before the all-star break, but start to fade towards the end of the season and be a bench player by the all-star break. That’s all-right, he’s not even old enough to get into a Miami bar. He’ll get there