As he begins the second chapter of his NBA career, after being traded from the Miami Heat to the Milwaukee Bucks, Kel'el Ware took a pretty clear - and clean - shot at Erik Spoelstra with the way he was coached through the first two professional years.
But even though Ware may have made a solid point on Spoelstra, it's the one area of his coaching philosophy that is considered unorthodox. And, in many ways, Spoelstra's unpredictability whenever it comes to a player's role on any given night is what you take with how good he is when it comes to X's and O's, and in almost every other facet of coaching.
As he prepares for the new season with the Bucks, Ware admitted that it was "hard" to play on any given night with his role constantly changing with the Heat. Again, this is completely "fair" criticism of Spo, but it's hardly surprising.
Kel'el Ware never felt like a clean fit with Erik Spoelstra
In fact, one of the most frustrating parts of Spo's coaching philosophy is that he isn't afraid to change things up at any given moment, whether things are working or not. This has been one of Spo's MOs throughout his coaching career. He's never shied away from shaking things up when it comes to his rotations on a night-to-night basis.
Considering Ware's inconsistency on his end, this is a tactic Spo would often resort to. For better or worse, Spo believed this was the best way to handle Ware's growing pains as a young player. After all, Spo's job wasn't just to help develop Ware. It was also to find a path toward winning games consistently.
Admittedly, it may not have been the best tactic for Spo to use for Ware, but there's reason to believe that he didn't want to let the young center get too comfortable in any one specific role. Why? Well, the theory is that if Ware did get too comfortable, the effort level from the young center would be an even bigger problem.
To combat that, Spo clearly believed that it was best to have Ware second-guessing every night. Again, that may have been a schematic mistake, but it's a philosophy that Spo has consistently used throughout his successful career.
It may not have fit in with Ware, and that's OK. That shouldn't take away from Ware, the player, or Spo, the coach.
At this point, you'd have to imagine both are quietly rooting for each other. As they prepare for their completely different journeys this season, this is one of the topics that will be interesting to follow closely. And, in the end, both could end up being right, to a certain extent.
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