Live updates: What Spoelstra, Adebayo, Powell are saying at Heat media day
The Heat held its annual media day at Kaseya Center on Monday in advance of Tuesday’s start of training camp at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton.
Here are some highlights; keep checking back for updates at the bottom:
Is Spoelstra planning on Kel’El Ware to be the starting center again? It sounds as though Spoelstra doesn’t simply want to hand Ware the job.
“There’s an element of unknown with this team and this season and it has invigorated me,” Spoelstra said. “I am embracing the unknown.... Despite what people think my tenor is with him, I enjoyed coaching Kel’El. he is learning the head coach’s standards of approaching every single day to strive for excellence and not accept anything less than that? As a young player, then you learn that impacts winnings.
“Is he there yet? No. Does he show signs of that? Yes. he does really care. He and Bam had some good moments together. In the playoffs, it wasn’t good. He’s positioning himself for an important role. He’ll have to prove it; he will have to earn it.”...
Spoelstra said Tyler Herro, coming off an ankle procedure, will be “back sooner than later.” He’s expected back in mid to late November....
On new addition Norm Powell, Spoelstra said “we’re excited to have Norm with us, his ability to put the ball in the basket. He can do it on the ball, can do it off the ball. He’s been able to be efficient in a lot of different roles. He’s been part of a lot of winning teams. He’s a competitive dude, has got an edge to him. His work ethic is tremendous. We will thrilled [to get him]. There were a lot of things we planned to do this summer; that one was a little bit of a surprise.”
Spoelstra said the first-round sweep against Cleveland “was humbling and we had plenty of time to decompress and get to work. Players are in a great place right now.”...
Spoelstra disputed a suggestion by one reporter that the Heat doesn’t have a primary ball-handler: “This is a different league than it was five, six, seven years ago. You need a lot of guys who can make plays off the dribble, get you into offense.”
Spoelstra spoke of “charting a different plan” with this team but wasn’t ready to elaborate....
Spoelstra said he is “very pleased” with Andrew Wiggins “heading into camp. He’s in terrific shape. He moved his family down here. His best games, not so coincidentally, is when his family visited. He wants his people around him.”..
Spoelstra said he didn’t have discussions with Terry Rozier about his struggles. “Terry has been in the gym since the middle of July. He is in great shape, lost 10, 12 pounds. He was playing pickup anywhere he could in Miami [this summer]. I am open to the start of the season.”...
He said Davion Mitchell “is a gym rat. He has an opportunity to explore and expand. I don’t want him thinking about scoring average or shooting percentage. Dogging guys defensively [was a big help]. The three-point percentage was a byproduct of having open shots. What he does is what we value and this team quite frankly needs. Whether it’s starting or coming off the bench, he will find a way to make a big impact.”
Spoelstra addressed the question of power rotation depth beyond Adebayo, Ware and Nikola Jovic:
“We have size, not only vertical size, athleticism size, girth size,” he said.
Spoelstra said rookie center Vlad Goldin, on a two-way contract, “had a really good summer. He doesn’t necessarily jump off the page with his play, but he’s consistent with his physicality and effort. He will get better with NBA nuances. [There’s] a specific role Vlad can carve out.”
Spoelstra had interesting comments about former Heat first-round pick Precious Achiuwa, who signed a one-year non-guaranteed deal last week: “We never had an opportunity to fully develop him. There was a lot we really liked about him. His speed, athleticism jump off the page.
“We were able to laugh about it a couple days ago about how some of my mentorship with Kal’El Ware and Niko. That was Precious his rookie year. There were a lot of ups and downs with Precious and the head coach. We didn’t have that opportunity to take that next step. We have that opportunity now. He has a different perspective. It’s coming from a place of love.”...
Adebayo said “everybody is in a great head space.” He said “it’s crazy I’m going into year nine. I enjoy being [someone] that people seek advice from.”...
He said he needs to be “consistent” offensively and acknowledged the “beginning of [last] year was shaky.”...
Bam said “I am hard on Kel’El.. being someone that wants more from him because he has so much potential in the world. And I was raised on UD [Udonis Haslem]. We want him to take challenges head on.”
This story was originally published September 29, 2025 at 9:57 AM.
