When players and coaches don’t get along, it creates unwanted drama in a team that spills into something huge. The Jonathan Kuminga-Steve Kerr situation has dominated headlines in the NBA, but recently, there’s also tension been brewing at the Miami Heat between Kel’el Ware and Erik Spoelstra.
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Spoelstra went on record recently to claim that Ware has been purposely playing poorly because of his lack of minutes. “I get it with young players — you sometime subconsciously play poorly to say ‘hey I’ll play poorly until you give me the minutes I think I deserve.’ That’s not how this works,” Spoelstra stated.
It sounded like the two-time NBA champion and longtime Heat coach was speaking casually. It did not come across as a shot, or even as something said with malicious intent. However, Ware has now responded, and it is only likely to intensify the growing tension in Miami.
“I think it’s crazy but I mean, it’s his comments,” Ware said to Ira Winderman. “I’ve kind of learned to control what you can control. It is what it is. If I didn’t play the 2nd half that was his decision he felt he needed to make. In order to produce I guess like he said 8 weeks ago, I would say I had more minutes 8 weeks ago. But I guess to try to bring that same productivity to the minutes that I’m getting now.”
Kel’el Ware’s response to Erik Spoelstra’s comments:
“I think it’s crazy but I mean, it’s his comments. I’ve kind of learned to control what you can control. It is what it is. If I didn’t play the 2nd half that was his decision he felt he needed to make. In order to produce I… https://t.co/7eiSjOA4Oj pic.twitter.com/5kvQ0jo7g9
— Heat Diehards (@HeatDiehards) January 18, 2026
It was about as professional a response as Ware could have delivered. That said, it does not feel like this is something that will simply fade away. With the Heat sitting at 21-20 and hovering around the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference, the situation could become a further distraction from the team’s playoff ambitions.
The good news is that Ware does have some support. Miami Heat legends Dwyane Wade and Udonis Haslem both stood up for the young center during recent interviews with the press. “I don’t really understand, the subconscious of saying, ‘I’m going to play bad.’ I don’t get that,” said Wade.
Haslem agreed with Wade, and while both retired icons felt Spoelstra had a point regarding Ware’s effort, he also did not believe that anyone would intentionally play poorly. “He’s one of our top seven or eight guys. He should be playing,” Haslem added.
At some point, this stops being about who said what and starts being about whether Miami actually wants to resolve the issue internally or continue letting it spill into microphones. Spoelstra has earned the benefit of the doubt over two decades, but publicly psychoanalyzing a 21-year-old in January feels like an unnecessary gamble for a team with little margin for error.
If the Heat are serious about climbing out of the play-in mud, the solution likely is not more quotes or clarifications. It is clearer roles, quieter conversations, and a reminder that development and winning do not have to be competing ideas. Otherwise, this season risks being remembered less for how it ended and more for how strange it became along the way.
