Kel'el Ware Could be Major Steal for Suns

The Indiana center has a very high ceiling and could bode well on the Suns.

Mar 15, 2024; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Indiana Hoosiers center Kel'el Ware (1) dunks against Nebraska Cornhuskers guard Sam Hoiberg (1) during the second half at Target Center. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-USA TODAY Sports / Matt Krohn-USA TODAY Sports

We are officially here. The Phoenix Suns and the rest of the NBA world are set to partake in this year's edition of the draft - with the first round set for Wednesday evening.

As the 2024 NBA Draft quickly approaches, Indiana's Kel'el Ware appears like he'd be an optimal fit in head coach Mike Budenholzer's system.

Ware is a 20-year old sophomore who played for the Indiana Hoosiers after being in-and-out of the lineup at Oregon as a freshman.

He is also truly one of the most polarizing prospects in this draft, as certain things pop and remind fans just what a modern day big man should be, while others remind those same fans reasons of trepidation.

We'll take a dive in on one of the quintessential "boom or bust" prospects in this draft in short order.

The Skinny

Height: 7'1"

Weight: 230 lbs

Wingspan: 7'5"

2023-24 Stats at Indiana: 15.9 PPG, 9.9 RPG, 1.9 BPG, 42.5% 3PT

Strengths

Shot Mechanics

Ware admittedly only shot 40 threes in his lone season at Indiana.

Kel’el Ware with the catch and shoot jumper. Impressive touch at his size. Shot mechanics looks good and has nice upside as a stretch big. pic.twitter.com/VJey6DiGmH

— Global Scouting (@GlobalScouting_) April 9, 2022

He hit 17 of them, which is in the ballpark of a 50% conversion rate when given a small sample - which is difficult to ignore despite the sample.

While he may not be Karl-Anthony Towns or even Brook Lopez from deep as a rookie, he certainly has the touch, mechanics, and attacking mentality to be a quality shooter in the league.

This extends to his free throw shooting.

Ware only shot 63.4% from the free throw line in 2023-24, but again has the mechanics to become a consistent 75-80% shooter at the pro level.

Rim Protection

Ware is a very quality defender - when closer to the hoop. He struggles a bit in space, save for drop coverage - which he actually excels in.

Ware also bucks the trend of bigs that are labeled as "block chasers."

He actually does his best to leverage his long wingspan and athleticism into forcing tough shots at the rim - which happened to lead to nearly two blocks a contest last season.

kel'el ware has high lottery upside if he continues to lock in throughout the season, his rim protection, playmaking and shooting flashes are high level pic.twitter.com/882IHOZ15d

— ben pfeifer (@bjpf_) November 9, 2023

Ware would quite literally be the antithesis of Jusuf Nurkic, who isn't a liability per se, but is limited by a lack of athleticism.

Play Finishing

Ware is a fantastic finisher just off of being a constant lob threat alone.

kel'el ware's floater/intermediate touch could be a trump card for his scoring projection, most lob threat bigs don't have the feathery touch ware exhbits on the move

he shot 28/54 (51.9%) on runners + hooks this year and the ability to catch and contort is evident pic.twitter.com/6gmcHQleeW

— ben pfeifer (@bjpf_) June 13, 2024

That isn't all he brings to the table, however.

Kel’el Ware can return awesome value if he ends up in the right situation.

The 7’1 big averaged 15.9 PPG, 9.9 RPG, 1.5 APG, and 1.9 BPG.

Athletic big man who finishes plays at the rim, is a nice PnR partner, has good touch, and is a good shot blocker. Sick lob threat w length. pic.twitter.com/3e8LqLp8V7

— Lucas 🦦 (@redcooteay) June 4, 2024

Ware has an impressive array of finishing moves, including floaters, hook shots, and thunderous dunks off of rolls.

Ware shooting just south of 61% on two-point attempts isn't a coincidence - he is one of the strongest players around the hoop in this class.

Areas of Improvement

Motor

One of the biggest concerns surrounding Ware is the belief that he lacks a sense of urgency - that he doesn't "grind it out" on a possession to possession basis.

That sentiment was dimmed a bit over this past season, but still remains.

Ultimately, a hard-nosed coach such as Budenholzer would be a very good thing for Ware and the Suns could be just the franchise to get the most out of him.

Passing

Ware flashes as a tertiary playmaker in spurts and has showed some potential as a ball-handler, but ultimately averaged more turnovers (1.6) than assists (1.5) per game at IU.

He, much like Missi, gets caught up in tunnel vision too frequently - which leads to ill-advised decisions or inaccurate swing passes out to the perimeter.

This is something that will surely improve at least some with time. The game will eventually slow down for Ware in a quality situation.

Screen Setting

This isn't a terrible point of critique, but Ware sometimes fails to initiate enough contact on screens. He also fails to line up the timing on picks-and-pops at times.

This isn't a huge gripe as previously stated, but improvement in this area could lead to even more efficient offense and would make him significantly more playable down the stretch of games compared to Nurkic.

Fit on Suns

Ware feels like he could be the rare mid-late first round pick that could have the ability to start on a good NBA team right away.

He may not receive heavy minutes right away, but 20-25 minutes feels very fair and he could be productive on both ends very early in his career - not much different from Dereck Lively II of the Dallas Mavericks.

His enticing blend of athleticism, ability to protect the rim, and strong shooting mechanics make him a prospect that could become the steal of the draft by the Suns, especially under the tutelage of Budenholzer.