Kel'el Ware will unquestionably play a big role in the Miami Heat's success or failure this season. However, one NBA expert doesn't believe that Ware should be in the starting 5, a move that would completely derail the Ware movement for Miami.
In the words of Zach Lowe, in an attempt to boost the team's offense, they should start Nikola Jovic over Ware alongside Bam Adebayo to begin the season. He also added that they need to figure out the guard spot next to Tyler Herro, but that he would have Herro, Andrew Wiggins, Jovic, and Bam as the four other players in the starting 5.
In defense of Lowe, this is not exactly a groundbreaking mentality. Especially considering the strong summer that Jovic just had while playing for Team Serbia in the EuroBasket Tournament, it wouldn't be surprising if the Heat gave him a shot to earn the other starting big spot for the team.
However, one thing that this move would do is it would complicate Ware's role for this season. After earning the starting nod toward the latter portion of last season, it'd be a difficult pill for Ware to swallow if he were now moved back to the bench.
While it may be the smart move, it's hard to imagine what type of impact it may have on Ware's development.
Kel'el Ware can unlock the Heat's potential
All summer long, it was clear that the Heat was waiting for Ware to prove that he was ready to take that next leap in his development. Even though he did have some bright moments during his time with the Heat's summer league team, I'm not sure he accomplished that.
While he did close out his summer league stint strongly, there were some questionable moments for Ware, so much so that Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra went all the way to call him out publicly.
Even though I wouldn't read too much into that, it's difficult to ignore as Ware prepares for his all-important sophomore season. Especially considering the narrative that Ware found himself in during the Kevin Durant trade saga, the second-year big man will enter year two with some pretty big expectations.
But if Ware does meet those high expectations this season, it will go a long way in helping raise this Heat team's ceiling. If Ware does prove that he deserves the starting center spot, it will give Spo another tool to add to his arsenal.
At least for now, it's impossible to know for sure what we can expect from Ware. And that's probably where Lowe is coming from in his suggestion to bring him off the bench.
Nevertheless, I'm not sure if the Heat have that luxury. If they were to go down that route, it would almost certainly pump the brakes on all the momentum that Ware has built over the last few months. And that won't necessarily be a good thing for Ware or the Heat.