The Miami Heat’s notable offseason addition turned out to be newly drafted 7-foot Kel’el Ware out of Indiana. Ware is a lanky big man with plenty of intriguing potential, and he has wasted no time in turning the heads of Heat Nation so far. He was a big part of Miami’s undefeated summer league championship roster, where he put up 17.3 points, 8.3 rebounds and 2.3 blocks.
It has been tough to decipher a potential role for Ware during the upcoming 2024-25 season. There are a lot of elements to his game that could help this Heat team right now, but he is still incredibly raw with a lot to learn. The talent is certainly there, but at just 20 years old it should be a safe bet to not expect Ware to have any regular minutes right off the bat.
Heat fans have seen this with development from other bigs in Bam Adebayo and Nikola Jovic in their system. Ware surely needs to beef up his frame and build up that IQ on a professional stage. However, his size, height and versatility make him poised to fit in perfectly as the roster as presently constructed.
Adebayo even mentioned some excitement in the idea of having a true 7-foot option with the team on media day; something that the Heat have lacked in their depth chart over the years.
Ware showed out in limited minutes during the team’s opening preseason loss to the Charlotte Hornets the other night. He put up 13 points, 5 rebounds, 4 blocks and 2 steals in just 17 minutes of playing time, while shooting 5/9 (56%) from the field and 1/3 from 3-point range. The fact that he didn’t even see his first big of game action until the third quarter and had a team-high in points and blocks is impressive.
There is just endless opportunity with having a player of his caliber involved moving forward. Ware can pose as a valuable rotation player either backing up Adebayo or playing alongside him, even as a young rookie with no experience. He has ample versatility to his game as a guy that can spread the floor, finish around the rim and protect the paint.
Ware shot 42.5% from deep in his last college season with Indiana, along with a near double-double per game statline with 15.9 points and 9.9 rebounds. The scouting department headlined by Adam Simon and the greatness of Pat Riley could have found themselves another diamond in the rough with Ware’s talent sliding to them at 15th overall in this summer’s NBA draft.
Some could say the Heat haven’t had a true shot blocking threat ever since the Hassan Whiteside era, until now. Ware could open up a lot of things for Miami on both ends of the floor, most notably in allowing Adebayo to slide to a more natural power forward position. A position change like that could do more wonders than fans may realize, as it provides a threat with size and length on the perimeter with Adebayo being more free.
It is yet to be seen just how legitimate the motor behind Ware is, but coach Erik Spoelstra shouldn’t be afraid of testing out the impact from his rookie early on.
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ESPN Senior Writer Brian Windhorst said Kel’el Ware looks like Dereck Lively with a 3 point shot. Lively was named to last season’s All-Rookie Second Team.
Lively was as rookie an important player of the team which made the finals. He should be the runner up for the rookie of the year behind Wemby.
It would be perfect if he can put a rookie season like that.
If Butler is available for 65 games or more and plays up to his abilities, if Ware can develop into a starter by the end of the season, if Jovic and Jaquez make a nice leap in their productivity and if the team gels into a cohesive unit (both offensively and defensively), the Heat can have a good year. If they can stay healthy (as Boston did last year) anything is possible.
I was very encouraged by Butler’s interview yesterday (see below). Maybe Riley’s comments at the end of last season and having the summer to consider his options and residence preference served as a wake up call for Jimmy. He definitely has had an “attitude adjustment.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vmKrbB-uVzo
Jimmy lost his father in February, before the all-star game. He stated it was hard for him to focus on playing with the pain. He explains this on the Netflix documentary series “Starting 5.”
As a Heat fan, I was frustrated, and now I’m embarrassed; I did not know and jumped to conclusions. We never know what a human being may be going through at any given moment, which is why grace and kindness should be extended.
I m watching the series now, I m somewhere in the middle and a bit confused. As far I know, Butler grew up more or less as a homeless, when mother kicked him out of the house. Is that true or a legend? I m not sure how father fits in, if he lived with his mother? Weird.
Butler was born in Houston on September 14, 1989. His father left the family when Butler was an infant. When he was 13 years old and living in the Houston suburb of Tomball, his mother kicked him out of the house. As Butler remembered it in a 2011 interview, she told him, “I don’t like the look of you. You gotta go.” Butler maintains a relationship with his parents, saying, “I don’t hold grudges. I still talk to my family. My mom. My father. We love each other. That’s never going to change.”
Well, he is a saint. Those two looks like parents from the hell.
Jimmy’s “issues” started during the preseason. Nonetheless, I too, feel bad about being so critical of him during the second half of the season. Fans are human too. If we are left in the dark we can jump to conclusions. Fans care about their teams’ players and want to know about happy and sad moments in the players’ lives. It’s hard to be supportive or compassionate if we are kept in the dark. We are just left with the player’s shortcomings with no explanation. It’s easy to be critical.
My main issues with Jimmy were when his ego got away from him when he said if he had been available to play against Boston or New York in the playoffs, the results would have been different. Then he went on to state he wanted a two-year maximum contract extension. I think he was wrong on both counts.
That is now hopefully behind all of us. He appears to have a new, positive attitude where winning is his #1 priority, staying in Miami is #2 and money is a distant #3. If that’s the case, I’m good with that. No harm…no foul. Nothing to see here! Move along!!!
GO HEAT!!!
Talent is there, thats for sure. But I dont see him to have significant impact as a rookie. Some good backup center minutes behind Bam instead of Bryant could be it this year.
Nothing is wrong with that. big man needs more time to develop.
I agree. He will not be as impactful as Jaime was in his first season. He is younger and will need more time to adjust, get stronger and learn. It is natural. JJJ was quite unnatural in this regard, but as I said he came to the league older and he is just a different kind of player.
But I hope Kel’el will adapt eventually, we need a big man so much. He is definitely a very talented and promising player for the Heat’s future, but we cannot expect from him to be a regular starter in his first season.