Spoelstra addresses Kel'el Ware's lack of playing time: 'Quiet all the noise'

While rookies picked in the middle of the first round like Jared McCain and Dalton Knecht garner headlines, Miami Heat rookie center Kel’el Ware has yet to make an impact.

Although expectations for the 15th pick in June’s draft are hight, the Heat continue to preach patience when it comes to the 7-footer.

“He's really committed to the whole process, and part of that process is just quiet all the noise,” coach Erik Spoelstra said. “Everybody has all these expectations, and rightly so. If he's not playing a certain amount of minutes, or if he doesn't get into the game, that doesn't mean things are going poorly. Quite the contrary. He's doing a lot of really good things.”

The Heat are preaching patience when it comes to Kel'el Ware.

Ware has appeared in eight of Miami’s 13 games this season, never playing more than 13 minutes. The Heat have been out-scored by 20 in his 48 total minutes this season. 

With five days between games after Monday’s win against the 76ers, Ware and the coaching staff had a rare opportunity to string together multiple practices. That kind of stuff that is valuable to a rookie.

“Really good practice today,” Spoelstra said. “He's making a lot of steps forward, steps behind the scenes, and that's what you want to see with young players.”

The learning curve for centers in the NBA is notoriously steep. Other centers selected in the first round like Alex Sarr, Zach Edey and Yves Missi have played more than Ware because they don’t have an All-Star center like Bam Adebayo ahead of them on the depth chart, but none have made a hugely positive impact on their teams yet.

Ware has played zero minutes alongside Adebayo. That still remains the vision. Ware’s willingness to shoot 3s and ability to block shots projects as a natural complement to Adebayo in the front court, but the coaching staff is still working with Ware on the nuances of the game, like pick-and-roll coverage and making NBA-level rotations.

After a standout summer league, Ware could be frustrated by the lack of playing time, but he’s said the right things publicly.

“I don't think it's frustrating. I would just say it's more of the developing aspect of it and just trying to get better,” Ware said. “I am a rookie, so just trying to get developed to the league.”