Q: Ira, Kel’el Ware and Pelle Larsson showed such a nice two-man game in summer league. Will Erik Spoelstra feed into that? – Andy.
A: Sure, but perhaps only during practice. With the Heat in win-now mode amid what could potentially be Jimmy Butler’s final season under contract, this remains a team, at least for now, living in the moment. But that’s fine, too, with plenty of time down the road for Kel’el and Pelle to fully become an item. Summer league showed a unique bond between the Heat’s 2024 draft picks. Now there is plenty of time to grow that on the NBA level.
Q: Ira, you know what I find interesting about the Olympics is Joel Embiid seeing what it’s like to have another big man alongside, someone like Bam Adebayo. Now Embiid is the one with Caleb Martin at the four. Embiid and Bam, I see it happening. – Samson.
A: It will be interesting to see how it works out in Philadelphia, without a true option at power forward other than Caleb Martin or Paul George sizing up to move to the four. And it’s not as if you can play Joel Embiid and Andre Drummond together. But it’s also not as if Joel is going to recruit Bam to Philadelphia, given Bam’s three-year extension. (Now, Joel to Miami?) But, yes, for all the hype of small ball, it also ups the ante for a big man with limited mobility. And it also can create Bam envy, especially if Bam ultimately winds up paired in lineups with Kel’el Ware.
Q: Ira, I saw a lot about Wayne Ellington helping the Heat’s shooters during summer league. Is he now their shooting coach? – Stefan.
A: Wayne Ellington is far more than a shooting coach amid his work as a developmental coach on Erik Spoelstra’s staff. But there also are few better to tutor on the elements of finding and creating the right shots when accounting for NBA spacing and pace. Shooting coaches can be great when it comes to mechanics, but a player who has lived the life of an NBA shooting specialist can pass along a far deeper appreciation of right shot at right time. Wayne was involved in a variety of coaching aspects at summer league.