How Kel'el Ware fits with the Miami Heat
Wednesday night, former Indiana big man Kel'el Ware was drafted No. 15 overall by the Miami Heat in the first round of the 2024 NBA Draft.
After spending the 2023-24 season in Bloomington with the Hoosiers, the 7-footer is off to South Beach to play alongside Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo in Miami.
As a rookie in the association, let's examine Ware's fit with the Heat.
A season ago, the Heat were a team that ranked as one of the NBA's top defenses, while ranking in the bottom half of the NBA in terms of offensive efficiency.
Miami's 2024 first round pick will almost certainly fortify an already elite defense, while also potentially unlocking things on the offensive end of the floor as well.
Ware fits nicely into Miami's current vacancy at the backup center spot behind three-time all-star Bam Adebayo.
Ware's defensive fit with the Heat is obvious. With Ware being one of the best rim protectors in the country last season, his shot blocking prowess would've translated to the NBA no matter which team drafted him.
After the selection of Ware, the Heat should be able to rest easier knowing that when Adebayo -- their five-time All-Defensive team selection -- heads to the bench, they have another elite shot blocker and rim protector to fill the void defensively.
Offensively, the biggest question mark is Ware's ability to space the floor.
If Ware's 3-point shot that he flashed at the college level is able to translate to the NBA, it could help in unlocking an often disjointed-looking Heat offense that ranked second-to-last in the NBA in pace a year ago.
That 3-point shot is increasingly important for Ware, if he plans on earning a sizable role alongside Heat star Jimmy Butler, who is one of the NBA's top mid range scorers.
There's even the possibility of Ware and Adebayo -- another Heat player infatuated with the mid range and high-post areas -- coexisting on the floor together if Ware's jumpshot is able to translate to the league.
Even if Ware's jumper doesn't translate to the league right away, the vertical spacing Ware provides could be enough to earn him minutes alongside Miami's two stars.
With how often both Butler and Adebayo like work in the mid range, Ware's presence as a lob threat gives opposing defenses one more thing to think about. After all, how many times did Ware throw down an alley-oop following a feed from one of Trey Galloway or Malik Reneau, another pair of inside-the-arc scoers.
If the duo of Ware and Adebayo are able to figure out the offensive side of things, the thought of trying to score on those two on the other side of the floor would be nauseating for opposing teams.
Ware came to Indiana a year ago with questions about his motor. He seemed to squash those questions in his lone season with the Hoosiers. Now, a member of the Miami Heat, Ware is apart of one of the strongest basketball cultures in the entire NBA.
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