Dwyane Wade, Udonis Haslem counsel Heat center Kel'el Ware amid run-in with Spo

Speaking on their platform on Amazon Prime's NBA post-game show, the former Miami stars weighed in on Erik Spoelstra and the plight of the struggling Heat.

Feb 13, 2025; Dallas, Texas, USA; Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra laughs with Miami Heat center Kel'el Ware (7)during the first half against the Dallas Mavericks at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images | Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

Miami center Kel’el Ware was compared to disgruntled Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga on Thursday night.

Before you roll your eyes and hope to pump the brakes, the analysts drawing a correlation between the players were Dwyane Wade and Udonis Haslem. 

As part of the Amazon Prime post-game show that has quickly become must-see TV for NBA fans, the two Miami Heat legends chimed in on the plight of the 21-year-old 7-footer who would be, what, a distant young cousin within the family? 

“With Kel’el, I know that’s a lightning rod topic, he needs to get back to where he was eight weeks ago, seven weeks ago, where I felt, and everyone in the building felt he was stacking days, good days,” Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra said in the clip production chose to highlight after Miami's 119-114 home loss to Boston. “Make sure you’re ready and play the minutes you’re playing to a point it where makes me want to play you more.

“I get with some young players, you subconsciously play poorly to say, ‘hey, I’ll play poorly until you play me the minutes I think I deserve, then I’ll play well.’ That’s not how it works.”

Host Taylor Rooks asked Wade and Haslem for their opinion, and you can watch the clip in its entirety below. The takeaway is that Wade went to bat for Ware, who he says he doesn’t know personally.

“The kid was playing so well earlier in the year, where it looked like he was a centerpiece, and so you hate to see what we’ve got right here but I don’t think he’s intentionally trying to play bad,” Wade said. “I don’t think subconsciously this kid is trying to go out there and sabotage his minutes and his own career. It’s hard to go out there and get a rhythm and a flow when you don’t know when it’s coming. I agree with Spo about the stacking of the days… but the second part, I ain’t rocking with that part.”

Haslem agreed it made no sense, then went into preacher mode about how young players need to figure out how to overcome being challenged even when they’re frustrated, putting Ware’s plight in the same sentence with Kuminga, who isn’t playing in Golden State and demanded a trade on Thursday, and Ja Morant, who presumably wants out of Memphis.

“When you walk out on the basketball court with your head up you’re you know what, you allow them to be right about everything they’re saying,” Haslem said. “You allow them to be right about taking your minutes, you allow them to be right about saying, ‘he can’t handle these situations.’ Don’t give them the satisfaction. They make a lot of money to make the tough decisions. Put them in tough decisions by playing well.”

Ware has been deemed untouchable by the Heat in trade talks, but played a season-low nine minutes in a 119-114 loss to Boston. Spoelstra played Nikola Jovic over him. He also gave teenage rookie Kasparas Jakucionis major minutes in clutch time, so it wasn’t as if youth wasn’t being served.

Ware has played less than 18 minutes in four consecutive games, averaging 5.8 points and 3.5 rebounds. He’d played fewer than 18 minutes just four times until Jan. 10, averaging a double-double and starting most contests.

Young players typically ride the rollercoaster as far as minutes are concerned for multiple reasons in the NBA. Often, it’s tied to consistency. Other times, it’s about deference to veterans and guys who have earned trust.

Heat know Spo's Show won't bend philosophy to cater to Ware

Spoelstra is now the longest-tenured coach with a single team in all four major professional sports now that Mike Tomlin has retired from the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Baltimore Ravens parted ways with John Harbaugh, so even though his approach won’t be beyond reproach, it’s not going to change. Ware will need to figure this out to Spo’s liking in order to get back on track.

“It’s Miami. Miami is a lot of great things, but one thing that Miami is, is mentally exhausting. You have a lot of guys who are going to feel like Kel’el feels right now,” Wade said. “I’ve sat down with Spo and felt the same way, and this is a guy who could the shoot the ball anytime he wants and was a star on the team.

“You’re going to go through these mental challenges if you have a Miami Heat jersey on. This is just a part of the cloth of Miami. They’re going to challenge you physically, but they’re also going to challenge you mentally. So, hopefully, a young fella who has so much talent, can get through this bump (in the road) that he’s in right now where he can get back out there and really help this team get out of the play-in situation, get into where we want to see him in the playoffs, coming of age.”

Haslem concluded the segment with an adamant chorus of, “oh, he gonna get it back,” dropping that assurance four times. Hopefully Ware is as sure of that as one of his predecessors, because it’s easy to hang your head in this league when you’re young.