The Miami Heat are approaching the proverbial crossroads with polarizing center Kel'el Ware. The second-year big is a captivating talent who has mesmerized viewers, but he's also become a rather unpredictable commodity in regard to his fit and role within the rotation.
Though the concerns that the Heat have expressed over how Ware approaches the game may be valid, they must learn from where the Golden State Warriors went wrong with Jonathan Kuminga.
Kuminga is in his fifth season with the Warriors, but the past two years of his career have essentially amounted to a mutual waste of time. His strengths have been inadequately highlighted, his role has been limited, and his flaws have been unfortunately unresolved.
Though fingers can be pointed in every direction, the unfortunate truth remains that Kuminga is a young and talented scorer with a career average of 20.3 points per 36 minutes who has never felt empowered to explore his potential.
If it were as simple as getting Kuminga more shots, however, perhaps the Warriors wouldn't be in such a disadvantageous position. Kuminga was a restricted free agent in 2025 and was so desperate to escape his current situation that he signed a two-year deal with a club option to facilitate a trade.
Golden State has limited leverage in negotiations, however, after publicly downplaying Kuminga's value—a move the Heat are now guilty of with Ware.
Heat repeating Warriors' Jonathan Kuminga mistakes with Kel'el Ware
Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra recently made waves when he publicly stated that Ware is, "Stacking days in the wrong direction now." It was a public and pointed criticism of the second-year big man that instantly generated debates within the basketball community.
One can't help but draw a comparison to when Warriors head coach Steve Kerr publicly stated that Kuminga isn't a player he can consistently play big minutes if his goal is to win.
“It’s a tricky one because Jonathan obviously is gifted and wants to play a bigger role and wants to play more. And for me, I’ve been asked to win. And right now, he’s not a guy who I can say I’m going to play 38 minutes with the roster that we have—Steph and Jimmy and Draymond—and put the puzzle together that way and expect to win."
Whether or not Kerr and Spoelstra meant to cause a commotion, the damage appears to have been done.
Per Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald, Ware's response to Spoelstra's comments included the quote: "Honestly, I ain’t gonna lie, I think it’s crazy. But, I mean, it’s his comments." That's not necessarily a quote that suggests everyone is on the same page in the locker room.
Thankfully, Spoelstra appears to have realized that he was wrong for repeating Kerr's mistake by calling Ware out in such a public manner.
Heat must either trade or commit to developing Kel'el Ware
Spoelstra publicly stated that his approach, "Wasn’t fair to Kel’el," which is a step in the right direction. If nothing else, it's a necessary move by the head coach that's beginning to differentiate the Ware saga from the Kuminga experience.
In the event that Miami continues to be dissatisfied with what Ware brings to the table, however, they must learn one crucial lesson: It's sometimes better to walk away too soon than to drag a situation out.
If Ware isn't who the Heat want him to be, then they can't afford to go through what Kuminga and the Warriors have endured. Ware will be a restricted free agent in 2029, and outside of a hefty payday, hasn't been given all that many reasons to re-sign at this stage.
Perhaps the sign-and-trade market is appealing on the surface, but the Warriors learned how hard it is to plan for other teams' cap space and willingness to bail others out of their own mistakes.
With this in mind, the Heat must treat the next two-and-a-half seasons with the proper care and attention. They need to make a firm decision during that time about how Ware factors into their plans and empower him to play through his mistakes as they come to such a realization.
If they fail to do so, then a talented player who could've been a cornerstone or even a valuable trade piece will lose their luster. In the process, the Heat will squander multiple paths to improvement in one fell swoop.