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MIAMI — By now, the rumors have become a way of life for many on the Miami Heat roster, no player more so than Tyler “We’ll Only Trade You for a Hall of Famer” Herro.
But now, firmly in second place in that race has become Kel’el Ware, having already been a talking point just over a year ago for Kevin Durant and now a name that could push a potential Heat trade for Giannis Antetokounmpo across the finish line.
For most of Ware’s two seasons with the Heat he has been more of an abstract than a defined reality, cast largely as a supporting player, one yet to earn complete trust of the coaching staff.
Perhaps the best example of that is how much Ware has been utilized in zone defense, an approach that some might contend is hiding the 2024 first-round pick from the direct challenges of his position.
After the All-Star break this past season, Ware defensively was utilized in zone on 37.2% of his non-transition defensive possessions, an eye-catching number.
So Ware as defensive anchor? To this point, largely still an unknown.
Which raises the question of what potential value the Heat would be surrendering if the 7-footer was sent out in a trade at this still nascent stage of his career.
To that end, the Sun Sentinel reached out to a long-time NBA scout whose job for decades has been evaluating such talent.
As a means of drawing comparisons, the question was posited as, “In terms of player comps, where do you think Kel’el Ware’s ultimate upside will stand in the prime of his career?”
Understand, the question was not about this moment, with Ware just having turned 22 in April and yet to be cast in anything close to a leading role.
“The commonality,” the scout said, “is range plus interior presence.”
The comps then offered were Myles Turner, Brook Lopez and what the scout termed “a poor man’s Kristaps Porzingis.”
But he also didn’t leave it there.
“What Ware has on all of them is his athleticism,” he said. “But skill-wise, of what those players can contribute nightly, there are similarities.
“Ware also is a lob threat, which is similar to Porzingis.”
That, in turn, brings it back to the Heat target of the hour.
Which in turn makes the question: At their peak, would a team have traded Myles Turner, Brook Lopez or Kristaps Porzingis for the current version of Giannis Antetokounmpo?
The assumption here is the answer would be a mix of “heck yeah” and “where do we sign up?”
On one hand, yes, Giannis will turn 32 in December. On the other, save for this outlier season when the Bucks did plenty to mothball him in what turned into his 36-game campaign, Antetokounmpo had played 67, 73, 63 and 67 games the previous four seasons.
And even this season, an All-Star season, in his limited appearances he averaged 27.6 points on .624 shooting, 9.8 rebounds, 5.4 assists.
That still is win-now basketball, which is all the lottery-loathing Heat continue to preach.
As for Ware, the question becomes the value of true centers against today’s spread-the-floor offenses, whether playing in drop (when Ware eventually is forced to play more man-to-man) is a workable approach.
If Ware’s top end in that regard is, say, Jarrett Allen, is that enough to keep him off limits in the Giannis deal?
Allen, Porzingis and Lopez each have made one All-Star Game, Turner none.
So, again, back to the scout with another basic question, actually two: “In your view, is Kel’el a potential future All-Star or All-NBA?”
Because, when healthy, Giannis at the moment remains both, with a game, health permitting, that should keep him that at the start of his sought extension.
“He’s a potential All-Star,” the scout said of Ware. “I would say he has that level of talent. But it’s: How far is he from reaching his potential? So possibly not.
“And All-NBA seems like a stretch.”
No, Ware wouldn’t be the totality of a Heat package for Giannis, likely less coveted than say a Heat package of picks, or even the leading man from elsewhere (Jaylen Brown from the Celtics, Alperen Sengun from the Rockets, perhaps Paolo Banchero from the Magic).
But he also can’t be the cause of consternation.
There is a future there, a potentially bright future for Kel’el.
Potentially.
But Giannis is it.
Right now.
Even after this past season, and even with the calf concerns.
So it comes down to this: two, maybe three, seasons of prime Giannis, or the entirety of Kel’el Ware’s future?
To be wary of Ware as a trade component is to miss the point, and likely the boat, when it comes to a potential Giannis deal.
PREDICTIVE MADNESS: As if the entire Giannis Antetokounmpo situation wasn’t complex enough when it comes to Heat interest, there now is the element of those playing along, including Giannis himself. Antetokounmpo is a stakeholder and spokesman for the Kalshi predictive market, a market that currently features buy/sell options on “Giannis Antetokounmpo’s Next Team.” Dating to when that market opened after February’s NBA trading deadline, it on May 20 crossed into positive territory with a greater percentage of Giannis to the Heat than being on the Bucks roster as of Oct. 21. Entering the weekend, the trading had it as a 28% chance of Giannis landing with the Heat and a 19% chance of staying with the Bucks or retiring. So a company Giannis works with effectively has a line on where else Giannis might work.
WAITING GAME: Heat fans aren’t the only ones wondering what comes next. So is the coaching staff. That had assistant coach Caron Butler this past week on FanDuel’s Run It Back, talking about the expectation in the wake of Pat Riley‘s State of the Heat last month. Asked what might be in the air, Butler said, “I think anything is in the air.” So now, the wait. “He has a plan in mind and he’s gonna execute it,” he said of Riley, “and we’re on the front line making sure that whatever his plan is that we execute it to a T.” The irony is the Heat were in a similar state of uncertainty in the 2004 offseason, an offseason that ultimately included the Riley plan that sent Butler to the Los Angeles Lakers in the trade for Shaquille O’Neal.
FAMILIAR FEELING: For former Heat guard Duncan Robinson it was somewhat of a familiar feeling after his Pistons’ Game 7 loss last weekend to the Cleveland Cavaliers, considering how many of his Miami seasons ended. But there also was empathy for the Cavaliers making their breakthrough to the conference finals. “I don’t know that you have to go through it, but there is a level of pain that comes with experiencing these types of losses, that if channeled the right way, can be invaluable,” Robinson said of the youthful Pistons. “The team we played is a pretty good example of that, the sense of urgency they came out with. You look down that roster and it has been through some pain.”
NEXT MAN UP: It has become as basic for the Miami Heat as you work Erik Spoelstra‘s bench during the regular season, you coach the team’s development wing at some point for a summer league. That has Wayne Ellington as next man up, with the Heat assistant to guide this summer’s roster in Sacramento and Las Vegas. Assistant Eric Glass coached the Heat summer roster last year, just as he did in 2019. Former video coordinator and Heat G League coach Dan Bisaccio guided the Heat to the Vegas championship in 2024. Prior to that, the role was held by Spoelstra assistants Butler (2023), Malik Allen (2021, ’22), as well as Chris Quinn (2017, ’18), Dan Craig (2013, ’15 and ’16), Juwan Howard (2014) and David Fizdale (2010, ’11 and ’12).
NOT ALONE: Heat 2025 first-round pick Kasparas Jakucionis won’t be alone when it comes to NBA talent on Lithuania’s roster for the early-July World Cup qualifying window, with Chicago Bulls forward Matas Buzelis and Denver Nuggets center Jonas Valanciunas also participating. When it comes to minutes at point guard on the roster, Jakucionis’ competition will come from, according to BasketNews, Arnas Velicka (Neptunas Klaipeda), Kristupas Zemaitis (Gevi Napoli), Augustas Marciulionis (Rytas Vilnius), and Dovydas Giedraitis (Zalgiris Kaunas).
6. Coaches who took a team to the NBA Finals since Erik Spoelstra and the Heat made the 2020 championship round, but are no longer with those teams with this past week’s dismissal of Jason Kidd as Mavericks coach. The others were Frank Vogel (2020 Finals, with Lakers); Mike Budenholzer (2021, Bucks), Monty Williams (2021, Suns), Ime Udoka (2022, Celtics) and Michael Malone (2023, Nuggets). Kidd had led Dallas to the 2024 NBA Finals.
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But now, firmly in second place in that race has become Kel’el Ware, having already been a talking point just over a year ago for Kevin Durant and now a name that could push a potential Heat trade for Giannis Antetokounmpo across the finish line.
For most of Ware’s two seasons with the Heat he has been more of an abstract than a defined reality, cast largely as a supporting player, one yet to earn complete trust of the coaching staff.
Perhaps the best example of that is how much Ware has been utilized in zone defense, an approach that some might contend is hiding the 2024 first-round pick from the direct challenges of his position.
After the All-Star break this past season, Ware defensively was utilized in zone on 37.2% of his non-transition defensive possessions, an eye-catching number.
So Ware as defensive anchor? To this point, largely still an unknown.
Which raises the question of what potential value the Heat would be surrendering if the 7-footer was sent out in a trade at this still nascent stage of his career.
To that end, the Sun Sentinel reached out to a long-time NBA scout whose job for decades has been evaluating such talent.
As a means of drawing comparisons, the question was posited as, “In terms of player comps, where do you think Kel’el Ware’s ultimate upside will stand in the prime of his career?”
Understand, the question was not about this moment, with Ware just having turned 22 in April and yet to be cast in anything close to a leading role.
“The commonality,” the scout said, “is range plus interior presence.”
The comps then offered were Myles Turner, Brook Lopez and what the scout termed “a poor man’s Kristaps Porzingis.”
But he also didn’t leave it there.
“What Ware has on all of them is his athleticism,” he said. “But skill-wise, of what those players can contribute nightly, there are similarities.
“Ware also is a lob threat, which is similar to Porzingis.”
That, in turn, brings it back to the Heat target of the hour.
Which in turn makes the question: At their peak, would a team have traded Myles Turner, Brook Lopez or Kristaps Porzingis for the current version of Giannis Antetokounmpo?
The assumption here is the answer would be a mix of “heck yeah” and “where do we sign up?”
On one hand, yes, Giannis will turn 32 in December. On the other, save for this outlier season when the Bucks did plenty to mothball him in what turned into his 36-game campaign, Antetokounmpo had played 67, 73, 63 and 67 games the previous four seasons.
And even this season, an All-Star season, in his limited appearances he averaged 27.6 points on .624 shooting, 9.8 rebounds, 5.4 assists.
That still is win-now basketball, which is all the lottery-loathing Heat continue to preach.
As for Ware, the question becomes the value of true centers against today’s spread-the-floor offenses, whether playing in drop (when Ware eventually is forced to play more man-to-man) is a workable approach.
If Ware’s top end in that regard is, say, Jarrett Allen, is that enough to keep him off limits in the Giannis deal?
Allen, Porzingis and Lopez each have made one All-Star Game, Turner none.
So, again, back to the scout with another basic question, actually two: “In your view, is Kel’el a potential future All-Star or All-NBA?”
Because, when healthy, Giannis at the moment remains both, with a game, health permitting, that should keep him that at the start of his sought extension.
“He’s a potential All-Star,” the scout said of Ware. “I would say he has that level of talent. But it’s: How far is he from reaching his potential? So possibly not.
“And All-NBA seems like a stretch.”
No, Ware wouldn’t be the totality of a Heat package for Giannis, likely less coveted than say a Heat package of picks, or even the leading man from elsewhere (Jaylen Brown from the Celtics, Alperen Sengun from the Rockets, perhaps Paolo Banchero from the Magic).
But he also can’t be the cause of consternation.
There is a future there, a potentially bright future for Kel’el.
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Potentially.
But Giannis is it.
Right now.
Even after this past season, and even with the calf concerns.
So it comes down to this: two, maybe three, seasons of prime Giannis, or the entirety of Kel’el Ware’s future?
To be wary of Ware as a trade component is to miss the point, and likely the boat, when it comes to a potential Giannis deal.
IN THE LANE
PREDICTIVE MADNESS: As if the entire Giannis Antetokounmpo situation wasn’t complex enough when it comes to Heat interest, there now is the element of those playing along, including Giannis himself. Antetokounmpo is a stakeholder and spokesman for the Kalshi predictive market, a market that currently features buy/sell options on “Giannis Antetokounmpo’s Next Team.” Dating to when that market opened after February’s NBA trading deadline, it on May 20 crossed into positive territory with a greater percentage of Giannis to the Heat than being on the Bucks roster as of Oct. 21. Entering the weekend, the trading had it as a 28% chance of Giannis landing with the Heat and a 19% chance of staying with the Bucks or retiring. So a company Giannis works with effectively has a line on where else Giannis might work.
WAITING GAME: Heat fans aren’t the only ones wondering what comes next. So is the coaching staff. That had assistant coach Caron Butler this past week on FanDuel’s Run It Back, talking about the expectation in the wake of Pat Riley‘s State of the Heat last month. Asked what might be in the air, Butler said, “I think anything is in the air.” So now, the wait. “He has a plan in mind and he’s gonna execute it,” he said of Riley, “and we’re on the front line making sure that whatever his plan is that we execute it to a T.” The irony is the Heat were in a similar state of uncertainty in the 2004 offseason, an offseason that ultimately included the Riley plan that sent Butler to the Los Angeles Lakers in the trade for Shaquille O’Neal.
FAMILIAR FEELING: For former Heat guard Duncan Robinson it was somewhat of a familiar feeling after his Pistons’ Game 7 loss last weekend to the Cleveland Cavaliers, considering how many of his Miami seasons ended. But there also was empathy for the Cavaliers making their breakthrough to the conference finals. “I don’t know that you have to go through it, but there is a level of pain that comes with experiencing these types of losses, that if channeled the right way, can be invaluable,” Robinson said of the youthful Pistons. “The team we played is a pretty good example of that, the sense of urgency they came out with. You look down that roster and it has been through some pain.”
NEXT MAN UP: It has become as basic for the Miami Heat as you work Erik Spoelstra‘s bench during the regular season, you coach the team’s development wing at some point for a summer league. That has Wayne Ellington as next man up, with the Heat assistant to guide this summer’s roster in Sacramento and Las Vegas. Assistant Eric Glass coached the Heat summer roster last year, just as he did in 2019. Former video coordinator and Heat G League coach Dan Bisaccio guided the Heat to the Vegas championship in 2024. Prior to that, the role was held by Spoelstra assistants Butler (2023), Malik Allen (2021, ’22), as well as Chris Quinn (2017, ’18), Dan Craig (2013, ’15 and ’16), Juwan Howard (2014) and David Fizdale (2010, ’11 and ’12).
NOT ALONE: Heat 2025 first-round pick Kasparas Jakucionis won’t be alone when it comes to NBA talent on Lithuania’s roster for the early-July World Cup qualifying window, with Chicago Bulls forward Matas Buzelis and Denver Nuggets center Jonas Valanciunas also participating. When it comes to minutes at point guard on the roster, Jakucionis’ competition will come from, according to BasketNews, Arnas Velicka (Neptunas Klaipeda), Kristupas Zemaitis (Gevi Napoli), Augustas Marciulionis (Rytas Vilnius), and Dovydas Giedraitis (Zalgiris Kaunas).
NUMBER
6. Coaches who took a team to the NBA Finals since Erik Spoelstra and the Heat made the 2020 championship round, but are no longer with those teams with this past week’s dismissal of Jason Kidd as Mavericks coach. The others were Frank Vogel (2020 Finals, with Lakers); Mike Budenholzer (2021, Bucks), Monty Williams (2021, Suns), Ime Udoka (2022, Celtics) and Michael Malone (2023, Nuggets). Kidd had led Dallas to the 2024 NBA Finals.
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