Heat rookie Kel’el Ware hasn’t played much yet, but he has impressed behind the scenes
Rookie center Kel’el Ware hasn’t played much yet this season, but he has already left a strong impression on his Miami Heat coaches and teammates because of his professional approach behind the scenes.
“He has been doing what he needs to do,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said of Ware ahead of Monday night’s matchup against the Brooklyn Nets at Kaseya Center. “This is what I really respect about what he’s done so far as a young player. He has not gotten caught up in anything other than daily improvement, which is hard to do if you’re not necessarily playing every single game.
“But you commit to the process, you commit to the work in the weight room, pre-practice, film sessions, all the things. Young players sometimes can think we’re a little bit crazy with all of that, and he hasn’t. He’s embraced all of it. So it’s going to happen for him.”
Ware, who the Heat selected with the 15th overall in this year’s draft, took advantage of a rare opportunity to play meaningful minutes in Saturday’s loss to the Magic in Orlando. With usual Heat backup center Kevin Love unavailable for the contest because of personal reasons, Ware filled that void in the rotation after being held out or on G League assignment in the previous nine games.
In Ware’s first game action with the Heat since Nov. 27, he finished Saturday’s defeat with eight points, seven rebounds and two blocks in 14 minutes off the bench. Even in the loss, the Heat outscored the Magic by 26 points with Ware on the court as starting center Bam Adebayo’s backup.
“I thought he was really good,” Spoelstra said of Ware’s performance on Saturday.
Whether that quality outing results in more consistent playing time for Ware remains to be seen. But considering that the Heat traded center Thomas Bryant on Dec. 15 and Love’s minutes have fluctuated lately based on matchups, it wouldn’t be a surprise if there’s an uptick in Ware’s playing time in the coming days and weeks.
“I see Kel’el as improved from this summer,” Spoelstra said. “He’s unique. His size, his quick twitch, he can impact the game on both ends. So we’ll just continue to work with him. It’s been a joy to work and develop him as a staff.”
Ware, 20, has already impressed Heat teammates during practices with his upside as a 7-footer with a 7-foot-5 wingspan. Ware has the ability to serve as a rim protector on the defensive end and dynamic roller on the offensive end, with the potential to also hit three-pointers.
“He has really fit in with us well because he just continues to work hard,” Love said when asked about Ware. “He listens to every single one of us, he wants to apply things that are taught to him both on and off the floor. He has really just continued to chase the game. Even at practice, we just sometimes put him on defense and have him guard the rim and just try to block every shot. We don’t care if it’s a goaltend, we don’t care if he smacks the ball into the fifth row. ... That’s what we want to see from him. He’s a guy who can really do that.”
That’s a skill the Heat could use, as it enters Monday averaging the fewest blocks in the NBA this season at 3.5 per game.
“Kel’el wants to learn, he’s open to the coaching and guys like playing with him,” Spoelstra said. “He’s starting to earn their trust. It starts by earning the trust of the coaching staff, then you earn the trust of your teammates and he’s starting to check those boxes.”
One box Ware is still working to check, though, is filling out his body.
Ware has already put on eight pounds since playing in his first NBA summer league in July. With the Heat wanting Ware to reach 240 pounds, he’s currently at 238 pounds.
“Just getting my body stronger, just getting more stable being on the court and things like that,” Ware said of what he’s been focused on in his behind-the-scenes work.
All the while, Ware’s veteran Heat teammates continue to push and guide him.
“Just to go hard,” Ware said of the advice he’s received from Heat teammates. “It’s patience that comes with it. So when your time is right, your time is right and it’s going to come.”
That’s an approach that Spoelstra has noticed and appreciated.
“He’s really committed to the whole process,” Spoelstra said. “Part of that process is just quiet all the noise. Everybody has all these expectations and rightly so. If he’s not playing a certain amount of minutes or if he doesn’t get into a game, that doesn’t mean that things are going poorly. Quite the contrary, he’s doing a lot of really good things.
“Control what you can control, stack good days. You keep on doing those good days, that leaves an impression on the head coach and the rest of the coaching staff, your teammates. He’s getting better. He still has to learn the league, learn how things go. But he’s making a lot of steps forward behind the scenes and that’s what you want to see with young players.”
Adebayo knows what it’s like to be in Ware’s situation.
Before becoming a three-time NBA All-Star center who is now a Heat cornerstone, Adebayo was a first-round pick who didn’t immediately find himself in Miami’s rotation. Adebayo played double-digit minutes in just five of the Heat’s first 19 games during his rookie season in 2017-18.
Entering Monday’s matchup against the Nets, Ware has played double-digit minutes in just three of the Heat’s first 26 games this season.
“He’s just understanding the process,” Adebayo said of Ware. “It’s a marathon not a sprint at the end of the day, and I think he’s starting to understand that. I always make the joke that I didn’t play as a rookie. So obviously you look at what I’ve done in my career, if you would have seen me in my rookie year, you would have been like there’s no way this kid is going to be him now. So like I said, just sticking with the process.”
That’s exactly what Ware has been trying to do in hopes of becoming a factor in the Heat’s rotation at some point this season.
“I’ve been staying ready since the season started,” Ware said, “and just keep preparing my body and developing.”
This story was originally published December 23, 2024 at 10:33 AM.
