Miami Heat HC Erik Spoelstra CALLS OUT Kel’el Ware | Full Media Session

Miami Heat HC Erik Spoelstra CALLS OUT Kel’el Ware | Full Media Session

sort of what’s got lost in the in the shuffle when we spoke to you after the season and even with Pat. We never talked about Andrew Wigs and because there’s been so little said from both you and Pat about Andrew. There’s a lot of stuff in the wind. Can you sort of maybe give us your thoughts on what happened with Wigs? What do you see in his future and sort of the whole I would say respectfully that was more on you guys. Um we were dealing with just my presser was about uh that Cleveland series, but um Wigs uh you know had some really good moments with us before he got hurt. Uh he was uh exactly what we needed and wanted uh out of that position. Uh I think there’s still real opportunity for growth with him as he gets comfortable uh with us. Uh he’s already down uh in Miami right now and uh we’ll be bringing his family in. He’s going to going to be here most of uh of August to September. I think just get more acclimated. I think that’s really important for him. You know, it’s not easy changing teams mid-season. Um but you can see the possibilities of the two-way play. He’s really dynamic uh defensively. He can guard uh in our system, guard multiple players offensively. Um his skill set is really unique uh because you can go to him. We we we probably played him more as a go-to guy than he had been playing in that role. Uh you know, previously, not for better or worse. We just needed that. Um but he also can play off the ball, which is important. Uh he and Tyler had really good chemistry going. Um it was a little bit shortlived because of the injuries, but you know, for about a 5w week period, we were really encouraged um you know, about how he can fit. Um, and I think that’s going to get a lot better as the team gets more comfortable and acclimated with us, the city, um, you know, everything with uh, um, you know, our team and the players, the locker room and all that. Speaking of, speaking of chemistry, um, how do you see Norm and Tyler playing off of each other? I think that’ll work uh, very well. Uh, they’re both skilled. Uh they’ve both had that ability to be on the ball obviously and they both have proven that they can play off the ball. Uh Norm has done that for a lot of his career. Played off the ball, played off of high usage guys and he’s extremely efficient with his catch and shoot uh ability and his cutting and his uh driving uh ability hitting downhill. but as he proved, you know, the last three years, he also could be a a go-to guy with the ball in his hands and he’s going to make some things happen for your team. Um, I think they’ll really enjoy, you know, playing off each other because of their skill set. Um, they’re both uh, you know, unselfish in terms of understand the big picture and wanting other guys to be to be aggressive. We need it. We need we need uh more uh you know guys that can make plays um make it a little bit more complex for the defense to prepare for us. When you look at the East obviously Boston’s going to have a very different dynamic. Indiana is going to look very different. Yeah. There’s a sense that everything’s kind of wide open. Do you look at it that way? No, I don’t. And I think that’s that’s cool, you know, for the fan base, you know, to look at it that way. uh we’re not afraid of the competition. You can’t be afraid of the competition. You can’t think that, oh, just because, you know, there’s been some changes in rosters or some injuries that, oh, now we have a chance. That’s that’s kind of a loser’s mentality. You know, we want to compete at at the highest level regardless of who’s out there. Uh we know we have to improve. We knew we had to do some uh things this offseason. We uh know that we have to have a a really good training camp, which um I think we know. guys are going to uh come in prepared. We’ll have a productive uh August and September. Um I’ve talked to everybody. Everybody’s motivated. We’ve had plenty of time off. Everybody wants to just gear up and get ready. Um and you can feel the energy. You can feel the excitement building. Um doesn’t have to be all there right now, but look, it’s happening organically. I feel it myself. The staff feels it. The players feel it. And you know, it’s not that we wish training camp could be tomorrow, but uh I think it’ll be a nice healthy ramp up, you know, to get to there and it’s still going to be great competition and that that’s what it’s about. But you got to you got to embrace it. We’re looking forward to it. When you unpacked the season and just did your autopsy, if you will, of everything, what’ you take away from No, there’s there’s a few takeaways. Um I don’t need to get into the the whole deal, right? you know, right there. I think we we really started to put it together. You know, there were a lot of things obviously happened. Um, and we pride ourselves in in hitting stride and getting better the seasons on at the right times. It happened very late. It happened in about the last 10 games. Uh, and then that led to two really competitive playin games. big picture. That’s not where we want to be, but it felt like we were building something in those 10 games and those two games were exhilarating. The locker room was alive after that Atlanta uh game and then it was a buzz kill after that. Um but there’s different levels to this. We understand that. um you know those close games are are something that we’ve really uh analyzed and um that can change the trajectory of your season if you handle those moments of truth better and you have uh few more wins out of those groupings of games that were very winnable fourth quarter leads that kind of stuff league’s trying to figure that out. Um but that’s given us something to to really uh dive into. Um, and then offensively, you know, building a system where, uh, you know, it can be dynamic, um, and a little bit tougher to, uh, to just prepare for if you’re on the other side. What do you want to take from the summer league experience? And how would you kind of evaluate? Okay, that there’s layers to this with Kal. Uh you know a big part of this is he has to uh really embrace uh and improve his professionalism uh his consistency his approach uh every single day. He he has to get better with that. Uh it’s learning how to become a pro. I understand it. He was 20 last year and he’s 21. We have bigger expectations. It’s not your normal uh growth and growing pains of a young player learning how to become a pro. But that’s what this summer uh the professionalism uh and consistency uh has to improve. Um and it is you know our standards are not going to change and our expectations of how fast we want that to improve for him are not going to change. Um but he’s got to get better at uh he has to take ownership of it. Um and uh you know the other stuff will will come along with that. you know, that leads into the weight, you know, your professionalism, your consistency, your approach every single day. Uh, he’s getting stronger. Um, he is gaining weight. Um, that’s a big part of his improvement is getting his body physically prepared and ready to handle the rigors of a physical position. Then there’s some nuances of uh doing things defensively and playing stronger with more force uh offensively. We’re working on those things every single day. The league uh you know I think is the best big man coach and mentor in the league and they they’re spending a lot of time um hitting you know pounding lower physical. Um you saw a piece of it right here uh at the end. Um you know that that’s what we feel like we do. We feel like, you know, also giving them the structure uh to grow and embrace becoming a pro, learning how to be a professional, you know, uh every single day, being early, um having a a great energy and count uh every day. Uh how you do anything is how you do everything. Um and you know, he’s he’s taking some steps, but he’s got to get better. He has to get better with professionalism. Uh, obviously the injury last year kind of derailed what he was doing, but then it looked like he was starting to find a comfort zone a little bit when he came back. What do you want to see from him? How important is it to kind of find a a specific role for him this year? That’ll happen. It was already happening before he got hurt. Um, and you know, he’s a a unique skill set. Uh, so you know, part of his strength is making other players better. Some of it is in these plays in between that were unscripted. That’s often times where he’s at his best. He also can get lost like any player if you’re playing strictly in those areas where you can get lost in the sauce. So, he can play on the ball. Uh but we have a lot of guys that can play on the ball. So, there’s going to be a balance, you know, right there. His growth also will continue to be the professionalism, the consistency approach, his work ethic. But if you compare that to where it is right now, and that’s why I’m encouraged about you look at where Nico was as a rookie to where he’s becoming right now. It’s night day. They the work ethic um and it’s a consistency of approach every single day. Uh, I think the last two summers have been really good because it’s been a um a strong balance of the Miami player, the dominant program, and then going to play for this national team. I think that’s helped us mature um because it it means a whole lot to that team and every player, every coaching staff. You can’t just go in there like casually. Um so I think that’s been as important as the stuff we’ve been doing. Um and I think this summer I they have big expectations and um you know the first year he was a token starter in the world championships and then any moments of truth he wasn’t playing. Coaches will play who they think can help you win. Last year he’s probably the eighth or ninth 10th man biggest stage. So my challenge to him was to break in the rotation. Make that uh Hall of Fame coach earn your trust. Um It’s all the consistency. It’s the winning things. It’s your approach. Um, it’s no different than here. I I love the fact that he’s playing for that coach who’s very demanding. Um, but uh Nico had a really good uh June and late May. He’s put on some strength. He’s just going to come back looking different. You know, every year he comes back stronger, bigger. I’m excited uh about uh you know, his improvement. has talked about how he wants to bounce. Kevin’s role as obviously he was more of a locker room than pretty much when he was around this past season. Now that he’s not there, you had in that role for a number of years before Kevin. Now Kevin’s gone. Who takes that? I mean the first part of it like um it’s always tough, you know, when you’re you’re making transitions, you know, it’s tough, you know, to make those calls. Um, it was tough, you know, to make that call with them. I had a beautiful conversation because it was really more about the two of us being grateful for the relationship and all the memories of something that was so improbable, you know, was there from the very beginning. Uh, and thinking, “Wow, is this guy going to make it?” You know, it doesn’t fit the the prototype. Um, but his superpower was his fortitude and grit that I respect so much that I think, you know, I tell him all the time, it’s really a book. You know, you talk about how many things you had to overcome, how many nos that you didn’t accept as a no and just keep on staying with it all the time. That was a tough conversation that turned into a funeral. It was really, you know, kind of emotional for for both of us. Um, but I’m happy for him, you know, with Kevin. Um, you know, those that that’s tough. There is a business part of it. Um, you know, the reality is the last couple years this group has been transitioning. The leadership is has really, you know, and and it really has to be other guys, too. Tyler, you know, stepping up. It can’t just be one guy. You know, that that way of being a captain before is uh is still important, but you need a group that is embracing leadership at all levels in today’s NBA. I I feel uh and I think we have some potential, you know, with this group. Um for more guys to step in, you like time like norm of that. Um he’s played in a lot of really important playoff games. um wigs. I think as he gets comfortable with wigs, so much of this with him is about being comfortable. He finally got comfortable in a month. It didn’t take him long. He got comfortable and he was, you know, he he was dynamic, you know, you know, with there, but I I think we’ll have leadership that we’ll um establish throughout the roster starting training camp with Haime. Um he talked about how he wants to bounce back after last year. What kind of conversations have you guys had? What are you looking for? Are we going to change? Had some really good conversations. I I I told him I don’t necessarily like the dialogue of you just have to get back to who you were the your first half of the rookie year. Everything’s kind of changed, right? I’m not talking about the rotation. I’m talking about how uh the league will scout and figure things out extremely fast. So, by the time we got to the second half of it, take that as a sign of respect. Um because he’s a downhill guy. He really is. He’s uh he’s aggressive. He’s crafty. He’s clever when he gets into all his spins and fake spins and and putting his shoulder down. Now, it’s about making uh the paint decision reads. Um when you get in there, because he can still get in there, he’ll improve his shooting. Everybody always does, you know, with us. Um but I don’t want it to be his whole game based on whether he’s making a three-point shot or not. That’s not him at his best. his him at his best are these plays that are unscripted, getting downhill. Um, but now he has to make more complex decisions. When the health defenders are there, often times last year, two health defenders, guys are wide open making those plays. Uh, defensively, um, when he’s at his best, he’s just around the ball a lot. Whether that means a deflection, a steal or just a hustle play, like coming up with momentum shifting plays. that’s who could find him when he was in in college. Um, so really leaning into uh that. Uh, and other than that, he and I just talked about clearing his mind. You know, he spent a good deal of time with us, spent with Dan and Rob and working on shooting and working on play development, working on his body, and then he’s going to spend some time in LA. I want he’s got a phenomenal work ethic. Like he works out three times a day, you know, want him to like play some pickup, you know, in LA. um play some five on five with those things in mind uh at UCLA, all that stuff and then come back out, you know, at some point uh in August, clear my uh red case. All right. Thanks.

Erik Spoelstra discusses the state of the Miami Heat roster and Kel’el Ware needing to step up his professionalism after practice at Las Vegas NBA Summer League. #nba #miamiheat #heatnation

Become a Locked On Heat Insider on Subtext! https://joinsubtext.com/lockedonheat

Follow & Subscribe on all Podcast platforms
🎧 https://lockedonpodcasts.com/podcasts/locked-on-heat/

Locked On NBA League-Wide: Every Team, Fantasy, Draft, WNBA & More
🎧 https://lockedonpodcasts.com/leagues/nba

📲 Follow Locked On Heat on Twitter
Locked On Heat https://twitter.com/LockedOnHeat
David Ramil https://twitter.com/dramil13
Wes Goldberg https://twitter.com/wcgoldberg

📸 Follow Locked On Heat on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lockedonheat/

📺 Follow Locked On NBA: https://linktr.ee/lockedonnba

📢 Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors! | Offers from our sponsors: lockedonpodcasts.com/offers

Amazon Fire TV Stick 4k
Did you know your Fire TV is also an Xbox? Turn any TV into your gaming and entertainment hub with Fire TV Stick 4K devices — no console required. Head to Amazon.com/firetvlockedon to get started. Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription and compatible controller required.

OLIPOP
Get a free can of OLIPOP! Just buy any two cans in store and they’ll reimburse you for one. Head to drinkolipop.com/LOCKEDONNBA to claim your free can and find OLIPOP near you.

CarGurus
Buy or sell your next car today with CarGurus at CarGurus.com to make sure your big deal is the best deal.

WayFair
Give your home the refresh it needs with Wayfair. Head to Wayfair.com right now. Wayfair. Every style. Every home.

Monarch Money
Take control of your finances with Monarch Money. Use code LOCKEDONNBA at monarchmoney.com for 50% off your first year

Gametime
Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNBA for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Download Gametime today. What time is it? Gametime.

FanDuel
Right now, new customers can get TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS in BONUS BETS when your first FIVE DOLLAR BET WINS! Download the app or head to FANDUEL.COM to get started. Bet with FanDuel—Official Partner of the NBA.

FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN)

#miamiheat #heat #nba #freeagency