Kel’el Ware is an enigma. He possesses God-given ability like few other big men, but has yet to come close to establishing himself as a “winning player.” Has he had stretches of being that guy? Absolutely. It hasn’t been consistent, though. This shows up not only in the eye test, but also in the advanced stats: per Screwball, the Heat had a negative net rating when Ware was on the court last season (-1.0), which rose significantly when he was off (+4.1). Granted, much of this is down to youth, but evidently in Ware’s case, a lot of it comes back to mindset, and that’s why I’m somewhat hesitant to go all-in on the 22-year-old. Like, the flashes are titillating, but can he put it all together? Ware will need to show real, discernible change in year three if he is to take steps toward that.
And to be clear, I’m not interested in stats. Not at all. I’d wager that what fans most want to see is that Ware leads by example, shows accountability, and stays positive. If he ticks those boxes, the rest will take care of itself. So far in his basketball journey, Ware has not been able to display these qualities consistently. As you’ll see throughout this article, he has copped the “talented, but mentally feeble” label at virtually every stop. With Milwaukee, the seven-footer will get the chance to prove that wrong in a situation that is about as favourable to him as it’s going to get. If it doesn’t “click” now, will it ever?
We’ll get to that, but first, let’s rewind.
Kel’el Ware was considered one of those dudes coming out of North Little Rock High School in Arkansas. Ranked eighth in the ESPN Top 100, he made every all-star game—McDonald’s All-American, Jordan Brand Classic, Nike Hoop Summit—and committed to the University of Oregon as a prized recruit. Ware was expected to spend just a few months in Eugene before declaring for the 2023 NBA Draft.
Those plans did not eventuate. Not even close.
Ware was hugely disappointing for the Ducks, averaging just 6.6 points and 4.1 rebounds in about 15 minutes (!) per game. A complete flop of a freshman season. Why? You guessed it: poor energy and effort. The season got progressively worse for Ware, whose playing time diminished with each passing game. 20 games into the season, the big man hit rock bottom, playing a season-low six minutes and failing to register a shot attempt. Imagine that: a preseason lottery pick playing six minutes in a college game. Crazy. Speaking with reporters the following week at practice, Ducks coach Dana Altman didn’t exactly paint Ware in the brightest light.
“We’ve had a lot of conversations,” Altman said. “They haven’t gone as well and haven’t been as constructive as we want them to be. I was disappointed in his effort. I let him know that.
“He’s gonna have to make some adjustments or I’ve got to make some decisions. His time has been reduced. That doesn’t help us, because he is talented.”
Determined to dispel the criticism, Ware transferred to Indiana University to play under longtime NBA coach Mike Woodson.
“I know [Woodson is] going to get me to play hard,” Ware said upon his arrival. “That’s what I’m looking for going into this season, just to prove everyone wrong. Some people say I don’t have a motor, so I’m just ready to prove them wrong.”
And to the young man’s credit, he course-corrected, averaging about 16 points, nine rebounds, and two blocks in 32 minutes per night, catapulting himself into the first-round draft projections draftniks assumed he’d be in 12 months prior.
The Arkansas native credited Woodson with getting him back on the right path.
“He just told me he was going to get me back to where I needed to be,” Ware told the IndyStar’s Sam King. “If I chose to come to Indiana, he would be able to get me back [on the NBA radar]; he would be able to get me ready for it, and I feel like that’s what he did.”
Woodson was with Ware every step of the way, emphasising that he couldn’t change the past; he could only focus on what lay ahead, reported Sports Illustrated’s Jack Ankony.
“When I recruited that young man, I told him, ‘You cannot go back and get what happened the year before.’ You can’t. The word is out,” Woodson said. “They knocked you and said, ‘Hey, you’re lazy, you don’t work hard.’ And if you make a commitment to me, that’s got to change.
“I’m not always the easiest coach to play for, but I’m in your corner, I’m fair, and I want what’s best for you and my ballclub. And he made the commitment to me.”
But even after what was objectively a successful year at Bloomington, Ware admitted his approach still wasn’t where it needed to be.
“The motor aspect of it, what everybody says about my motor. I feel like I’ve proven that enough, but I still got more to prove.”
Nevertheless, Ware entered the 2024 NBA Draft as a projected first-round pick. However, where he’d go in the first round was anyone’s guess. Thus, it raised eyebrows when Ware was selected at pick 15, including from CBS Sports’ Adam Finkelstein, who labeled him the most polarising prospect in the class.
“There are a lot of high-risk, high-reward guys [in this draft]; Kel’el Ware is the most so in that category, and he’s been that way since high school,” Finkelstein said.
“He’s got every tool in the book—he’s a seven-footer, he runs, he jumps, he’s got soft hands, he’s got touch out to the three-point line, literally every single tool you could want—but this is a guy who has said out loud at times in the past that he’s not sure how much he loves basketball.”
Now, Finkelstein also noted that Ware showed “great growth” in his year with the Hoosiers, and that going to the Heat would be “the best thing in the world for him,” because of their much-bandied “culture.”
And yeah, Ware’s rookie year went off largely without a hitch; he averaged about nine and eight in 22 minutes per contest, finishing sixth in Rookie of the Year voting. Pretty good! It was the following offseason, however, that some of these mindset concerns came to the fore, with Heat coach Erik Spoelstra publicly questioning Ware’s commitment after a disappointing Summer League game.
“The professionalism and consistency has to improve, and it is. Our standards aren’t going to change. He’s getting stronger, gaining weight, and learning how to be a pro, but he’s got to take ownership of it. The other stuff will come along with that.”
These issues persisted into the following campaign. For example, Ware was benched last season for the entire second half of the Heat’s January 16th loss to the Celtics, with Spoelstra pulling no punches in his criticism of the young big postgame.
“It was a tough matchup for him in Boston with all the coverages, and the same thing tonight,” Spoelstra said. “He just has to stay ready. Look, with Kel’el, I know that’s a lightning-rod topic. He needs to get back to where he was eight weeks ago, where I felt, and everybody in the building felt he was stacking days, good days.
“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 responded strongly to Spoelstra’s critique, calling it “crazy.”
“I mean, it’s his comments. I’ve kind of learned to control what you can control,” he said. “It is what it is. If I didn’t play the second half, that was his decision he felt he needed to make.”
Now, although Ware dealt with sporadic minutes and turned in a bunch more uninspiring performances, it certainly wasn’t all doom-and-gloom throughout his Miami tenure—he had plenty of great games. Still, it’s clear at this point that his maturity isn’t where it needs to be.
Of course, the Giannis trade will give Ware the chance to start anew in a different situation—a situation he’s optimistic about. At Summer League this year, Ware spoke with the Miami Herald’s Anthony Chiang about getting traded and coach Spo’s handling of him.
“I kind of figured [the trade] was going to happen, 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.”
“I feel like his decision was his decision on how he played me. 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.”
So, after all this, what should we as fans make of Ware? It doesn’t seem ideal that Erik Spoelstra—widely regarded as the best coach in the NBA—had his fair share of issues with him. It also seems clear that while Ware needs to be pushed to get the best out of himself, he also needs to connect with and trust the person pushing him.
Additionally, I think it’s important to note that not all of this is mindset-related. We should also consider that Ware may just not be naturally as proficient at certain parts of the game, which, along with the mindset concerns, has played a key role in why he hasn’t been able to produce. Like, it’s not this black-and-white thing where suddenly becoming elite mentally would make him this top-tier player. It’s a mix of both.
That said, Ware does have to take some personal accountability for his mindset. He can control that, unlike some of these other variables. Instead of pointing the finger at others, he must look in the mirror and ask what he can do better. It’s time. Ware is now on a team that will afford him the freedom he seems to covet, a leadership role if he so desires it, and he’s extension-eligible next summer. All the incentives are there for this precocious talent to firmly establish himself as a key pillar of Milwaukee’s rebuild—we’ll see if he’s able to make the most of the opportunity. I sincerely hope he does.
Speaking of the Bucks’ young core, have your say on Brayden Burries’ potential for this week’s Reacts survey:
