There was a long moment in time when it seemed like Kel'el Ware was a rising star in the Miami Heat organization, moving up the ladder and building out a large role as a core piece of the team. This preseason, however, has been more of a gut punch than a victory parade for the young big man.
The Heat have played two preseason games thus far, and while they have been missing key guards in Tyler Herro and Davion Mitchell -- quite possibly their starting backcourt -- their frontcourt has been healthy and available. And Kel'el Ware has been relegated to the bench in both games.
That is certainly unexpected after Ware earned a spot in the starting lineup as a rookie, and there was not some big offseason acquisition to insert above him. He started 36 games last year and looked like the long-term option because of his ability to defend the paint and launch from distance.
Kel'el Ware has had a gut punch preseason
The last two weeks have not been kind to Ware. The Heat agreed to a long-term contract extension with Nikola Jovic, cementing him as a piece in the frontcourt. That would be fine for Ware, except then head coach Erik Spoelstra started Jovic over Ware in both games.
When asked about Jovic entering the starting lineup, Spoelstra said, "I'll see what we do with the starting lineup. Niko's played well. Does that mean he's going to start Day 1? I don't know. But I like what he's doing right now."
Many in Miami are pointing to that quote as proof that Jovic isn't a lock for the starting lineup. What they should be reacting to is that Jovic earned his spot in the starting lineup and then "right now" is playing like a player that should stay there. Everything is pointing to Spoelstra liking the fit of Jovic next to Bam Adebayo at the big positions.
That forces Ware to the bench -- and halts his progress. That doesn't mean he cannot continue to grow as a player, but it's an unexpected detour. He will still play some minutes alongside Adebayo, but if Jovic is playing starter's minutes at the 4, there is only so much of the pie left for Ware to take as the backup center.
Will Ware remain "off-limits" in trade conversations if he's merely the backup center? Jovic isn't going anywhere, and Adebayo is under contract long-term and the team's franchise player. Being stuck behind them has many implications for Ware's career moving forward.
It may have little to do with Ware. It may be that Jovic's shooting is a better fit for Spoelstra's vision for the offense. It may be that Adebayo has performed better as the sole big man according to whatever in-house metrics the Heat are looking at, or when they review the tape of Adebayo and Ware together.
At this point, however, Ware cannot feel good about where things stand. It has been a gut punch preseason for the young big man thus far.