Why Kel’el Ware is so important to Heat’s pursuit of Giannis Antetokounmpo
.JPG "Miami Heat center Kel'el Ware (7) looks on in the first half of his NBA game against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Kaseya Center on Nov. 12, 2025, in Miami.")
The development of Miami Heat second-year center Kel’el Ware is important to the organization’s future in more ways than one.
As an athletic 21-year-old 7-footer who can make threes and block shots, Ware is considered by most to have the highest upside among the Heat’s young prospects. That makes Ware a key part of the Heat’s current long-term plan, but it also makes Ware one of the Heat’s top trade chips.
With the Milwaukee Bucks reportedly seeking a “blue-chip young talent and/or a surplus of draft picks” in any trade of two-time NBA Most Valuable Player Giannis Antetokounmpo, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania, whether the Bucks view Ware as a “blue-chip young talent” will go a long way in determining the Heat’s chances of acquiring Antetokounmpo. The Heat is among the teams pursuing Antetokounmpo ahead of Thursday’s NBA trade deadline, according to a league source.
But even the Heat is still trying to find out just how good Ware can be, as his second NBA season has been filled with impressive highs and also some disappointing lows.
“I’m fully invested in and invigorated about the opportunity to develop Kel’el, and our staff feels the same way,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said recently. “We’re going to give him everything we have to make sure he becomes the player that he wants to become, that we need him to become. And I’m invigorated by the challenge of developing a young big like him.
“I look back at where he was last year at this time and where he is now, I think he’s markedly improved not only in his approach but his work ethic, his professionalism and his game.”
Ware has flashed his intriguing potential during stretches this season, grabbing double-digit rebounds in nine straight games in November. He also posted seven double-double stat lines during that nine-game stretch.
Ware enters Saturday night’s matchup against the Chicago Bulls at Kaseya Center averaging 11.5 points, 9.5 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game while shooting 54% from the field and 42.2% on 2.8 three-point attempts per game through the first 45 appearances during his second NBA season. That’s up from Ware’s rookie production, when he averaged 9.3 points, 7.4 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game while shooting 55.4% from the field and 31.5% on threes last season to earn a spot on the NBA All-Rookie Second Team.
But Ware’s production hasn’t led to positive minutes this season, as the Heat has been outscored by 4.3 points per 100 possessions while he has been on the court. With Ware on the bench, the Heat has outscored opponents by 5.3 points per 100 possessions this season.
Ware’s playing time has also been cut recently, as he entered Saturday with eight straight appearances off the bench after starting in 27 of his first 37 appearances this season. He has played under 20 minutes in each of those eight games as a reserve, including just seven minutes in Wednesday’s loss to the Orlando Magic and 12 minutes in Thursday’s win over the Bulls.
“Just doing what I can in my minutes,” Ware said of his goal amid diminished playing time, with the Heat and Bulls set to face off for a third straight time on Sunday at Kaseya Center (6 p.m., FanDuel Sports Network Sun and WPLG Local 10). “Whatever minutes I get, try to go out there and impact the game and make it positive minutes.”
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One of the biggest reasons behind the decline in Ware’s playing time is his inability to produce positive minutes alongside starting center Bam Adebayo.
Entering Saturday’s game against the Bulls, the Heat has been outscored by 7.9 points per 100 possessions in the 252 minutes that Adebayo and Ware have played together this season. Among the Heat’s 34 two-man combinations who have logged at least 200 minutes together this season, the Adebayo-Ware combo has the second-worst net rating.
Those struggles have led to Ware returning to a backup center role and only playing while Adebayo is on the bench. With Adebayo averaging more than 30 minutes per game, that leaves fewer than 20 non-Adebayo minutes for Ware to play in most contests.
Ware’s pick-and-roll defense also remains a work in progress, as the Heat entered Saturday allowing 5.8 more points per 100 possessions when he has been on the court this season than when he hasn’t been in the game.
“He’s a really good kid. He cares,” Heat assistant coach and big man’s coach Malik Allen said of Ware earlier this season. “It’s just been kind of fun going along the process of helping him learn how to navigate this whole thing and playing. Obviously, we strive to win at a very, very, very high level and win championships here. So for him, that’s a big jump from where he’s come from in his basketball life. So, that’s been a fun process to be a part of. Obviously, he’s got ways to go, we hope, because he’s got the ceiling. He’s young, and he’s got so far to go. But it’s been really cool to be a part of.”
Spoelstra has publicly challenged Ware to be better and more consistent multiple times in recent months.
It began this past offseason when Spoelstra called out Ware to “improve his professionalism, his consistency, his approach every single day” after his underwhelming start to summer league in July. Spoelstra has also challenged Ware early this season to make an impact on the game instead of just building impressive stat lines.
Spoelstra’s latest challenge to Ware came in mid-January, calling him out for regressing after his strong November stretch.
“He needs to get back to where he was eight weeks ago, seven weeks ago, where I felt and everybody in the building felt, he was stacking days, good days,’ Spoelstra said on Jan. 15. “He’s stacking days in the wrong direction now. He’s just got to get back to that. Stack days, build those habits, make sure you’re ready and play the minutes that you’re playing to a point where it makes me want to play you more.”
Ware, who is on a $4.4 million salary this season in the second year of his rookie deal after being taken by the Heat with the 15th overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, has taken all of it in stride.
“He’s heard it from, obviously, us, [Udonis Haslem] and [Adebayo], which is all a good thing to be able to take that,” Allen said. “A lot of young guys [can shut down]. Sometimes they work their way through it, but he’s just been open. That’s to his credit, and him wanting to get it right. He cares. I’ve felt that way since we got him. I was like, this guy cares. It’s just trying to help him along in impacting the things that matter in terms of like a real game.”
Now, Ware finds himself in the middle of trade speculation ahead of Thursday’s league-wide trade deadline. If the Heat manages to land Antetokounmpo, a big reason will likely be because the Bucks believe in Ware’s upside.
