After up-and-down Heat tenure, Kel’el Ware ready for fresh start with Bucks: ‘I’m excited’
Things change fast in the NBA. Just ask center Kel’el Ware.
Just one year ago, Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra made headlines during Las Vegas Summer League by calling out Ware.
“A big part of this is he has to really embrace and improve his professionalism, his consistency, his approach every single day,” Spoelstra said sternly last July before continuing to challenge Ware throughout his second NBA season. “He has to get better with that. It’s learning how to become a pro.”
This year, Ware is walking around Las Vegas during summer league in Milwaukee Bucks gear after the Heat included him as part of a trade package to acquire two-time NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo and veteran forward Bobby Portis this offseason.
“I mean, I kind of figured [the trade] was going to happen,” Ware said to two South Florida newspapers, including the Miami Herald, on Friday while watching the Bucks and Heat face off in a Las Vegas Summer League game. “So I was just preparing myself. It was everywhere. Speaking with my agents and things like that, you kind of get the gist of what’s going to happen.”
The trade happened, and Ware is looking forward to a fresh start with the Bucks after an up-and-down start to his NBA career with the Heat.
“A fresh start, getting more minutes with that,” Ware, 22, said. “Being able to go out there and just work on my game more, and game situation things.”
Because throughout Ware’s first two NBA seasons, minutes came and went with the Heat despite flashing his intriguing potential as a 7-footer who can shoot threes and block shots throughout that time.
Ware averaged 11.1 points, nine rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game while shooting 53% from the field and 39.5% on three three-point attempts per game across 77 games (34 starts) during his second NBA season last regular 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 in 64 appearances (36 starts) during the 2024-25 season.
But Ware also struggled to sustain and string together quality efforts through each of his first two NBA seasons, as Spoelstra called out Ware and benched him multiple times during his Heat tenure.
“I feel like his decision was his decision on how he played me,” Ware said of Spoelstra. “I mean, obviously now, where I’m at now, it’s a young team. I have more of a chance to flourish, so I’m excited for that.”
But does Ware feel like he was still able to grow on and off the court with the Heat despite all the ups and downs?
“Yeah, for sure,” said Ware, who was drafted by the Heat with the 15th overall pick in 2024. “I feel like even after my first year, I developed in my second year. And even after my second year, I feel like I developed. And I’ll develop going in my third year. So I feel like it was good. I was able to, I guess, grow up more mentally in Miami.”
Now, Ware can continue his growth alongside three former Heat teammates in Milwaukee. The Heat traded guard Tyler Herro, forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. and guard Kasparas Jakucionis along with Ware to the Bucks.
“That helps out a lot more,” Ware said of being traded to the Bucks with Herro, Jaquez and Jakucionis. “Some guys, they get traded by themselves. So I would say it helps to have three guys with me.”
After spending his first two NBA seasons with the Heat, Ware is ready to move forward and take advantage of a new opportunity with the Bucks.
“It’s just growing from it,” Ware said of his time with the Heat. “That’s why I say I grew more mentally in Miami. Just going through that and just dealing with that.”
