Miami Heat first-round rookie Kel’el Ware will be sent down to the Sioux Falls Skyforce, the team’s G-League affiliate, for assignment, the team announced Tuesday.
The Skyforce play host to the Windy City Bulls (Chicago’s G-League affiliate) on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. EST on ESPN+.
Ware has appeared in 10 games with the Heat this season, totaling only 69 minutes. He’s scored 24 total points with 16 rebounds, one assist, three steals and five blocks, converting on 40.0 percent of his field goal attempts and 2-of-7 (28.6 percent) from 3-point range.
Even though the G-League is a step down from competition, this is an excellent opportunity for Ware to accumulate extra game reps, given he’s not currently in the Heat’s big-man rotation.
This shouldn’t be viewed as a demotion. It allows him to play a specific role on both ends of the floor for an extended period while also getting the player development feedback necessary from head coach Dan Bisaccio, a former development staffer under Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra.
It’s unclear whether or not how long he will spend time in Sioux Falls. Nikola Jovic was another former Heat rookie who spent time in Sioux Falls as a rookie–and developed over time. Not all growth is linear, and not all players develop the same–but they see this as the proper tool for helping fine-tune Ware’s skillset as a rookie.
What do you think about Kel’el Ware getting sent down to Sioux Falls? Let us know in the comments!
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“The small-ball era seems like it’s being phased out of the NBA, and featuring Bam and Ware without the added pressure of making the playoffs could be very fun to watch.
Unfortunately, this would mean we likely won’t see Pat Riley win another championship before he retires. But it allows him to set the team up for success on his way out.”
…“There are many teams in the league that are set up to win now in the East: Boston, Cleveland, New York, Indiana, and even Orlando to name a few. If the Heat decides to make moves and embrace its young talent, they can afford to wait for these teams to age out (maybe not Orlando) and strike a couple of years down the line.”
“Tanking is a curse word in Heat fandom, so maybe this is more of a retool — but the Heat need a new identity soon, or the misery of losing will persist.”
https://allucanheat.com/time-miami-heat-trade-embrace-youth-movement?utm_campaign=FanSided+Daily&utm_source=FanSided+Daily&utm_medium=email&sc=e0273490fd355e2c28bdb25751d41af65a4dd80936ff00a80be9866c97887955
Meanwhile, Miami is getting outrebounded every night and other centers drafted in 2024 are playing and gaining valuable experience and self-confidence. I smell a tank coming on.
Not a good thing for the team but it’s best for the player. We fans often have trouble realizing the jump a rookie has to take to play regular nba minutes. Too bad for us fans though, as we were hoping he would emerge soon enough to help us as soon as early this season. That’s probably not going to happen quite that quickly. But, hopefully Ware will eventually become a valuable player for the Miami Heat, on whatever time table it takes.
when u seen him play what did they see where hes not ready but 80 year old love is readysmh
If Riley decides it makes more sense to trade players for assets/draft picks/cash, and to “tank it up” in order to keep Miami’s 2025 lottery pick, then Ware should be fast tracked and played as much as possible so he can acquire the valuable experience he needs in order to develop. If the team is tanking anyway, why not?