If there's one thing the Miami Heat have an abundance of, it's talent in their youth. There's no question the Heat have done a fair job in drafting over the past few years; Jamie Jaquez Jr. and Pelle Larsson are just two pieces of evidence for that; there are more, of course.
However, not everything is perfect, and some of Miami's younger players have yet to prove themselves, all while showing a lot of potential and flashes of what could make them very good NBA players.
The question is: how patient will the Heat's front office be with some of them? Development takes time, of course, and the Heat develop with the best of them. That said, in Kel'el Ware's case, his development has been spotty at times, and the Heat should question which version of Ware they will get next season.
Kel'el Ware's consistency and effort could raise red flags
What doesn't need questioning is Ware's talent or skill set; the 7-foot big man has it all: he can rebound, protect the rim, block, and make opponents work for their baskets in the paint. Ware has proven he can play defense at a high level, and Heat fans saw it most in his second season as he progressed alongside his fellow young teammates.
Ware bumped up his scoring production from 9.3 points per game to 11.1, as well as his three-point shooting, free throws, and rebounds; all categories that surpassed his rookie season's stats. Ware improved, sure, but the issues that overshadow him lie more in non-statistical areas: effort and consistency.
On some nights this past season, Ware was looking like the future center of the Heat. On other nights, Ware was getting benched during stretches of games because his effort didn't match his teammates'.
Ware is fully capable of pulling out big performances, and he did so on many occasions this season. Yet, it's his game-to-game efforts that are holding him back. Some of Ware's struggles this season have also been attributed to Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra. He and Ware had their moments of tension this year, but how Spoelstra used Ware at different points in the season left plenty of heads scratching.
Whether that's an accurate assessment of Spoelstra's coaching methods regarding Ware isn't really the main issue. No matter, Ware's effort has split between a Jekyll-and-Hyde-esque persona, and it cannot continue into next season; otherwise, his further development will be stunted.
Ware has all the ability in the world, and he's shown it. Just as well as he can block a shot at the rim with ease, he can pull up from the three-point line and net a swish. Again, Ware is exceptionally talented, making him the Heat's most important development piece right now.
Unless Ware finds himself out the door via a trade this summer, he has every shot of being a cornerstone piece of the Heat's franchise down the road. All he has to do is solve the problem of effort. After that, everything should begin to flow for him. It's about the only concerning thing about Ware's game today.
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