Erik Spoelstra Calls Out Kel’el Ware | Spo Says Miami Heat Center Needs To Improve Professionalism

Erik Spoelstra Calls Out Kel’el Ware | Spo Says Miami Heat Center Needs To Improve Professionalism

Welcome on in guys. Toby here with you and thanks for checking out the channel. Hope you’re doing well out there and if you guys could subscribe that’d be great and appreciate you stopping by. So the Miami Heat they are it’s Saturday they’re off today and they will be back at it on Sunday as they continue summer league and it’s been interesting how this has gone on because yesterday uh we got a little bit of satisfaction in Casperis Yakonas having a breakout performance. Though, I will say people are going to eat this up with this kid because the accountability from this kid, I told you yesterday, I don’t really care about the results of the game, even though that was not a very impressive fourth quarter. Uh, Coach Glass was not pleased with it based on his press conference. I mean, you want to There’s a great article today. You guys can go check it out about um Eric Glass. I think it came out a couple days ago actually, a nice profile piece done by Anthony Chang, who’s as good as it comes when it comes to like profile. I remember Anony’s Palm Beach pose bam on a bio for his profile. Like he’s really good at that stuff. So if you guys want to learn about the Heat summer league coach, go check it out. But um a lot of it’s talking about just how he’s like mini spo uh even just down to like the hair. And it’s funny because he’s answering his press conferences like he’s Eric Spolstra. It’s like whoa. um like it like it’s it’s basically like it feels like they just built another spo in a lab. It’s hilarious. So he was not putting uh he was not putting he was not pleased with that performance, but neither was Casper. Casper went out and he goes, “Yeah, my scoring was good, but boom, like right off the bat, he goes, “Other areas of my game not good enough. Defense not good enough. Rebounding not good enough.” I was like, man, if everybody you’re you’re you’re you’re saying exactly what uh what everybody wants to hear. I mean, like that is exactly what you want to hear from a kid who just cooked and had his great performance. Um it’s uh it’s really an awareness. It’s an accountability. Uh he wouldn’t talk about what advice he got. There were some cool pictures of Udonis Hasslam who was doing work for NBA TV and then we saw UD during the broadcast. he was on the sideline next to Zo and um he would not reveal any of the advice or talks with Udon Hasslam only that he has gotten a bunch of advice from UD but Udonis Hasslam on the sidelines made me think immediately about what has been happening with last year’s first round pick and I think now the swings to what the biggest storyline is of summer league in some ways is um and that is KL Wear. And what to make of this, right? This is a guy last year who averaged almost 10 points a game. Um averaged over seven rebounds a game, over a block a game in his rookie season. He was second team all rookie. He had a sensational rookie season where he was basically a starter halfway through. Um had a had a lot of struggles in the postseason for sure. But I think all in all, everybody came away with that. very excited about what the Kryptonian’s future is as we are going to go see Superman in a couple hours with uh with my son. I I do not expect a Keller uh uh cameo in uh in this version of Superman. But look, man, uh right now it seems to be his kryptonite is giving all of the effort that may be needed in this. And I think what everybody really wants to see um is is just him to absolutely annihilate the glass. And the thing that stood out with that Hawks game and coach Glass, no pun intended, wouldn’t put all the blame on Kell. He put it on a team effort, but they had 20 offensive rebounds given up to the Atlanta Hawks. Um they got absolutely smoked in the fourth quarter and yeah it’s just I I’ve said this yesterday after the recap in that I can look us look away from the first game because you know the fourth quarter I thought that he kind of took over and and in in a defensive mindset and and shut the door on that. The second game, you know, the game kind of stunk and, you know, 28 points, three rebounds. Not impressive by any means, but all right. It wasn’t a very good game. Lakers kind of got the jump on him. And then, you know, he missed the last game. Vlad Golden played. They played really well. The team played really well. And then you have this last game and it’s like, you know, it felt like it was it was motoring towards like, all right, another not a bad game. But then like you have the result of a collapse in the fourth quarter and you’re kind of left with like all right where is the Kell wear we’re we’re all expecting because he had some great quotes in the leadup to summer where he was talking about not being in the Kevin Durant trade and how everybody how he wanted to prove them right. He wanted to make sure that the Miami Heat made the right decision and not including him in KD talks. I also, you know, I don’t want the the eyeire of the fan to go towards a place where it’s like, ah, could have had KD if if they traded him, which was something that all summer I was like, yeah, I think if they did trade Khal Wear, they probably would have gotten Kevin Durant, I think. But it never it never seemed like it broached that cuz the Heat make it seem like they never felt like they were close on Kevin Durant. They wanted to only get him at bargain basement deals. So right now we find ourselves in a position where there is an expectation from the fan base to improve. I I don’t expect you know Keller to come out here and you know average 15 and 12 this year. I’m not expecting even like this huge leap from him. But I certainly we talked about the physicality that he’s going to have to deal with. But I don’t even think I I look at Kell and I was like, “Yeah, this guy’s is he physically overwhelmed.” Certainly Jared Allen like he vetted him a little bit. That’s gonna happen. A rookie is gonna have his welcome to the NBA moments. Um but I think the weight like okay he’s put on the weight and he’s he he I think can handle the physicality just from watching him. It does seem like a he’s got to put he’s got to put it in gear the entire time. And like look, this was the red flag on him. You know, we talk about why do guys draft? Why are guys not number one overall picks? Why are guys not number five? The thing on him and the only thing that really popped up on him was what happened at Oregon and that he didn’t, you know, play as hard as he needed to all the time and then transferred to Indiana. And coach Woodson tells a story about you know his mom telling him like hey do everything you can to get this kid driving and to you know Mike Woods and Chris and yeah Kell listened and he he worked his butt off and he had a really good year for Indiana and I don’t think anybody has said about Kell that he’s not a hard worker and clearly if he’s and I remember talking to Alonzo Morning on the draft night and saying that yeah no this kid has been in the gym he doesn’t have to be in the gym as much as he’s been in the gym. And Spo said yesterday like he put on 8 to 10 pounds of muscle. So I don’t think this is a guy who doesn’t work hard. But one thing that it can be a little squirly with giant people that’s different from uh that’s different from guards and and wings and all these guys who are flying around all the time is you know I just think it to the eye it it can be a lot more noticeable if they’re not going full speed ball and it’s just one of those things that like fans don’t have a lot of tolerance for you know like they they they will they will they will you know call you you out because they think, “Oh, if I was that tall, I would do X, Y, and Z.” So, I’m just hopeful that this guy can have a game, hopefully the next one, that just gets the jackals off a little bit because ultimately, like, look, this kid really did shine in his rookie season. Like, let’s not lose the plot. He was really, really good last year and I think he’s going to have a really good Heat career. Um, is he? But the question is, is he untouchable good? And who’s gonna take the bigger jump this year? Is it going to be him? Is it going to be Nico? I don’t know. But I do know it took even Nico, not necessarily from a a hard play, but he actually really did have to beef up physically and hold up physically because and I think still has some things that he needs to show this year of of being able to dominate smaller guys because people are going to put smaller people on him and he’s going to have to uh to be able to show that he can bully them. I think we showed flashes of that a little bit last year. Um, it’s unfortunate that the hand injury happened, but from Kell’s standpoint, is this a cause for concern? I have a hard time putting it to the level of concern, but you’re but I think there’s probably an element that even the organization’s a little frustrated. That’s like, come on, dude. We Let’s We We know you’re better than this. And you know, maybe this is one of those games because I do feel like there was an emphasis of getting Kell the uh excuse me, I do think there was an emphasis of getting Casperis the ball in his hands and letting him get into his comfort zone the last game a little bit more. I think you saw like it was a first half it felt all Cass and then second half Pella got his turn. So, you know, maybe there needs to be, you know, an emphasis of like getting big men. I always think this too. It’s very important to get big men involved early in games for all they do, for all you ask them to do with rebounding and blocking and boxing out. I think it’s important to feed the big man every once in a while. I think I think, you know, Bam has gotten, you know, hung out to dry. This used to happen to Chris Bosch all the time. Um, you know, but you can’t make every excuse under the sun for him. I want to I want to be like, yeah, it’s not that big a deal, you know, cuz cuz I like this guy as a player and uh and it was a real it was a real enjoyment to see and especially I think he did some things as a rookie that were just like, whoa, he does like Kell, the name Kell aside and the Kryptonians, he does look at times like this guy looks like he’s from another planet with the circus shots, with the blocks, with the dunks, you know, it’s It’s unbelievable, but it’s it’s it’s just keeping that little thing going the whole time. So, that’s that’s the hope, right? Like, this isn’t a session where I I’m in any way ripping the guy because that would be stupid. It’s it is summer league and we we’ve seen him in actual basketball games be a very productive player, but they are. But I do think everybody’s looking at me being like there’s got to be more meat on the bone here. And it needs to be uh and it needs to be better. So that’s the hope. I I because I I the Heat have three games on the schedule. I think they’ll have one more that’s un once all the the results are paired out, but they got a game Sunday and Monday. I doubt he’s going to play in both of those games. And then um and then there’s one more on Thursday. I if he has a good will he even play in those games? I don’t know cuz typically I I wasn’t even expecting him to play, you know, even this many games cuz that’s not typical. They do want to figure out jobs and all that type of stuff, but you know, I think that there is probably an element of them that’s like, “All right, let’s let’s let’s nip this in the bud. Let’s get let’s get a a big time performance.” Um, and look, it looked it can change like that because we were all thinking like, uh, is Yakonis gonna have a year round in the pine? And, you know, look what he did at this last game. I understand it’s a sophomore to rookie comparison, but I’m just saying it can flip very, very quickly. I just think I think I don’t even think it takes a game. I think like can KL Wear come out here? Can he dominate for seven, eight minutes, look like the freakiest freak on the floor, and put a lot of that at ease? So, we’ll see. Actually, just as I was about to uh finish this puppy up and upload it, uh some quotes have come out from Heat Practice today. Eric Spolstra addressed the media today. And there is a there’s a couple things that were of note from Heat Practice. one KL Wear practicing was doing uh drills in the post. Saw Anthony Chang, he posted that uh that Udonis Ham was going through drills with Kell uh in Las Vegas. And mind you, there’s no way that Udonis Ham is pleased with Kel Wear’s lack of rebounding. um if there’s anything that’s going to ever piss UNIS Hamml off more. And mind you, U has I think went on ESPN that the the day of that game and was like, you know, kind of singing the praises of Kell, but there’s a quote here from Anthony Chang. And I don’t know what the tone is. I’m reading tweets, but I figured this, you know, I’m doing this video today, so uh it’d be weird to post this while I have this info and not just come on here and riff a couple more minutes on this. But Eric Spolstra says, this is from Anthony Chang. He says, “Chel Wear needs to improve his quote professionalism.” And Anthony adds, quote, “The talent is there.” Spolstra added, “Man, that’s something, dude. That is something.” couple tweets from Ira that said uh yeah he emphasizes Eric Sper continues to emphasize for KL where quote he has to get better with professionalism. Um he says he has to take ownership from it. Geez. And he said that uh another tweet from Ira Eric says Nicoolola Yovic has grown with professionalism but still wants to see more. Says where can follow Yovic’s path. Damn, dude. I’ll tell you something. That’s something. That is something. that kind of I look I was going easy and I still am not hitting the panic button but I cannot act like that’s not a big deal and I think that you could see it in Eric Glass’s face yesterday. He’s said it throughout that he’s wanted to see more domination. Um, strong strong from the coach to have that on your on your your center, you know, a guy who says he knows he has the talent, but talking about professionalism, um, it’s interesting because he did he did sing his praises about his professionalism. So, there’s a purpose about it because he went on ESPN yesterday and he was very pro. So, if you don’t think that whatever the hell’s happened over these couple of games that that hasn’t rubbed the heat the wrong way, well, I guess now we have our answer. Now we have our answer from the Heat. Cuz if Spo is coming out there publicly, and you know, Spo, let me tell you something. That is not his deal. He is not a call players out in the media type of guy. That is not Eric Spolstra’s way. That’s not what he typically does. So if he’s doing it, he is they they’ve gotten to a point. That’s a big deal. He never does that. Never does that. I remember like Hassan Whiteside starting to fight players. It took like two fights for him to like even make a thing of it. Look how long he went with the Jimmy thing. Kept that under wraps. He never does that. So, for Spo to come out here and put that out there, man, he uh he is uh he’s he he definitely wants to see more. So I uh going to see Hey, big response needed tomorrow from from number seven that uh there’s a there’s an old saying that I like to that that I like to put on my show. The facts have changed. You know, you you you’re bowling down and take and again I’m trying I I went in today and I’m like, “All right, let’s do something on where.” It’s obviously the big thing everybody’s talking about. I’m trying not to hit the panic button on it. I’m trying to be understanding. Again, I’m a big Kel Wear fan. I like I like watching Kell play. Some of this stuff has been undeniable. But the coach coming out there and uh and saying that, damn. I mean, that’s uh very interesting for for Spo to come out here and uh make that known about Kell that he’s out here and he’s uh not happy with his performances so far because yesterday he was doing the opposite on TV. He was talking to ESPN. He was like, you know, a lot of talent, development, patience, but it’s put on the muscle. And, you know, mind you, this is a couple of days removed from the Miami Heat hearing or from from Kelware saying about the Miami Heat that he wants to make sure that, you know, they made the right decision. So, that’s something. Spo also said uh just for other notes, I’m not going to do the whole thing because uh but uh he also said that on Andrew Wiggins that Andrew Wiggins is in South Florida and he believes him that he’s going to be a part of the rotation this year that they’re going to be uh they’re going to be relying on Andrew Wiggins. But that’s uh that’s a that’s interesting. I cannot I’m I’m interested to see what the tone of this is, but uh even but all the reporters boots on the ground were like he was pretty strong about it that Eric that that that he is not feeling like Khal Wear is playing up to snuff. Spe does that. That is uh that is interesting.

Tobin starts talking about the concerns of Kel’el Ware and his unimpressive summer league and while it starts with not trying to get crazy about the lack of production after recording Spo tells reporters the Heat big man needs to improve his professionalism. At 12:33 mark quotes from practice break: Erik Spoelstra is not one to call out his players to the media so the Heat are clearly bothered by his summer performance.

Watch Tobin & Leroy on YouTube weekdays 10:00AM-2:00PM on @Miami560WQAM
Subscribe to Tobin & Leroy Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/tobin-leroy-show/id1218528304
Follow Tobin on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Brendan_Tobin
Follow Tobin on IG: https://www.instagram.com/brendan_tobin/