The Miami Heat face a thin center rotation with Kel'el Ware, Bam Adebayo and undrafted rookie Vladislav Goldin as primary options. Kel'el Ware showed promise on the summer circuit but relying on him as a starter creates depth risk. Shifting Ware to a high-usage reserve role and promoting Nikola Jović to the starting five could alleviate spacing issues and boost offensive potential. The Ware-Adebayo pairing posted a +4.6 net rating over 50 games, but Adebayo is not a floor-spacer and Ware made only 35 of 111 three-point attempts as a rookie. Moving Ware would be a strategic reshuffle, not a critique of his standing.
Maybe the Heat have different ideas for how to attack the 2025-26 NBA season, though. Given the lack of size on their roster, perhaps they want to spread out what they have and not cram it all into the opening group. By shifting Ware into a high-mileage reserve role and clearing a starting spot for breakout candidate Nikola Jović, they could cover up their depth issues and perhaps elevate their offense.
Let's get one thing out of the way before anyone starts making their wrong, incorrect assumptions about this idea. Moving Ware from the starting lineup to the second unit is not at all a criticism about his ability or a question about his standing within the organization (which should be through the roof). What it would be, rather, is a reshuffling of the pieces to perhaps better fit the puzzle.
While the Ware-Adebayo frontcourt fared just fine during its first season- plus-4.6 net rating over 50 games together, per NBA.com-there's likely a cap on how good that combo can be offensively right now. That's because Adebayo isn't a floor-spacer, and Ware is only a shooter in theory (35-of-111 from range as a rookie). Things could get cramped between the two pretty quickly, especially if there any spacing concerns elsewhere (like, say, Davion Mitchell remembering he's only a 34.4 percent career shooter on low volume).
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