{"id":739214,"date":"2026-05-20T10:24:16","date_gmt":"2026-05-20T10:24:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/739214\/"},"modified":"2026-05-20T10:24:16","modified_gmt":"2026-05-20T10:24:16","slug":"do-playoffs-show-need-for-miami-heat-to-keep-kelel-ware","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/739214\/","title":{"rendered":"Do playoffs show need for Miami Heat to keep Kel’el Ware?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Q: Are you and Erik Spoelstra watching Victor Wembanyama? Spo, are you watching how the Spurs use a dynamic center that will rule the league for the next decade plus? Ira, are you watching why every team wants Kel\u2019el included in any trade? I\u2019m old enough to remember Ware getting the best of Wemby two years ago. Yet we want a franchise-destroying trade for a superstar that won\u2019t win another championship in the four years he has left before his body implodes. You never trade a franchise center that\u00a0 Arely can legally drink yet.\u00a0 \u2013 Joe.<\/p>\n

A: With all due respect, comparing Kel\u2019el Ware to Victor Wembanyama would be like saying because the Heat have a young player at shooting guard they might have the next Michael Jordan. Wemby is the ultimate unicorn. Yes, Kel\u2019el had a moment against Victor over a year ago. But he is not a franchise player, certainly not at the moment<\/a>. That is why there is the chase for a superstar. The Heat with Giannis Antetokounmpo would be better next season and over the next few seasons then the Heat with Kel\u2019el Ware. That just is the reality.<\/p>\n

Q: San Antonio and OKC are light years ahead of us. We aren\u2019t even a Giannis Antetokounmpo or Kawhi Leonard away from being in their league, competitively speaking.\u00a0 \u2013 Scott.<\/p>\n

A: Which is what Pat Riley basically said at his season-ending media session<\/a>. But, again, such is the benefit of being in the Eastern Conference, where it doesn\u2019t mean having to face either of those Western Conference powerhouses until a potential NBA Finals. And, as Indiana showed last season, if you can get to the championship round, a break or two can change the entire equation. So the real measuring stick at the moment is how the Heat could upgrade against the East, which is a far less imposing challenge. To this point, no one in the East has looked either overwhelming or potentially enduring as the definitive team of the future, with all due respect to the Cavaliers and Knicks.<\/p>\n

Q: With the new lottery rules likely going into effect, is this the right time to be trading multiple picks? The Heat always did OK trading firsts because they knew it would be a mid-pick, at worst. With the East getting stronger and new rules, that\u2019s no longer a guarantee. They\u2019re going to be lucky if they can get out of owing a good one to Charlotte. Why\u00a0 go further on the hook? \u2013 John, Ocala.<\/p>\n

A: Agree. But that also is why the Heat retain a staff of analysts, to now work on this new draft math that could potentially impact their future. As the rules change, so will have to be the approach with such picks. New math requires new calculations. It is imperative the Heat stay ahead of that curve.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Q: Are you and Erik Spoelstra watching Victor Wembanyama? Spo, are you watching how the Spurs use a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":739215,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3778],"tags":[3879,7,144,165,295,189,3880,3881,6,66],"class_list":["post-739214","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-miami-heat","tag-ask-ira","tag-basketball","tag-heat","tag-latest-headlines","tag-miami","tag-miami-heat","tag-miami-heat-blog","tag-miamiheat","tag-nba","tag-sports"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116606419865824011","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/739214","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=739214"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/739214\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/739215"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=739214"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=739214"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=739214"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}