Heat's Erik Spoelstra Says Kel'el Ware Needs to Improve His 'Professionalism'

Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra said on Saturday that Kel'el Ware needs to work on his "professionalism" ahead of his second NBA season.

"The professionalism and consistency has to improve, and it is," Spoelstra told reporters, per RealGM's Wes Goldberg. "Our standards are not going to change, and our expectations of how fast we want that to improve for him are not going change.

"But he's got to get better at it. He has to take ownership of it. The other stuff will come along with that."

Ware, who played 64 games and made 36 starts during his rookie season, is averaging 12.0 points per game through three Summer League starts.

He has gone 13-for-33 (39.4 percent) from the field through those three games, and 1-for-10 (10 percent) from deep over the span.

Spoelstra indicated that the Heat wants Ware to focus both on improving his strength and his defensive game this offseason.

Ware, who came into his rookie season at 230 pounds, clocked in at 246 pounds earlier this month while working to hit a target weight of 250 pounds set by the team, according to the Miami Herald's Anthony Chiang.

"He's getting stronger. He is gaining weight. That's a big part of his improvement, is getting his body physically prepared and ready to handle the rigors of a physical position," Spoelstra said. "Then there's nuances of doing things defensively, and playing stronger with more force offensively. We're working on these things every single day."

Spoelstra praised assistant coach Malik Allen, who spent three and a half seasons of his playing career as a big man for the Heat, for helping Ware develop this offseason.

"We feel like also giving him the structure to grow and embrace becoming a pro, learning how to be a professional, every single day, being early, having great energy and countenance every day," Spoelstra said. "How you do anything is how you do everything.

"He's taking some steps, but he's gotta get better. He has to get better with the professionalism."

Charania reported last month that the Heat's unwillingness to trade Ware was part of the reason the team missed out on acquiring Kevin Durant before the Phoenix Suns traded the star to the Houston Rockets.

According to Chiang, Ware said that knowing he was kept off the table in Durant trade talks "made me feel the Heat wanted me and they want to see how far I can get in the future and see how my development goes."

“That makes me want to show them what I can do and how far I can go," Ware told Chiang. "They see the potential in me and they see what I can be. So my main goal is to just sort of repay that they didn’t make a mistake."

That could potentially serve as motivation for Ware to meet Spoelstra's expectations as he works to improve his production and secure his spot in next season's starting lineup this summer in Las Vegas.