The 2024 NBA Draft will be held on Wednesday, June 26th and Thursday, June 27th. Our resident draft expert Bryant has semi-retired from draft scouting, so we won’t have his usual in-depth breakdowns to rely on. So we’re going to do our draft coverage a little differently this year. We’ll present some prospects, share some highlight videos, and share some general thoughts before opening it up to the group to discuss.
We’ve covered the majority of the likely candidates for the Sacramento Kings and the 13th pick, but we’ve yet to discuss Kel’el Ware. Ware worked out for the Kings in the same workout as Zach Edey, and could certainly hear his name called in the late lottery on Wednesday. Let’s learn a little more about the Indiana big man.
NBA Position: Big
General Info: 20-year-old, played at Indiana University. From North Little Rock, Arkansas.
Measurables: 6’11.75″ w/o shoes, 230.0 lbs, 7’4.5″ wingspan, 9’4.5″ standing reach.
2023-2024 Season Statistics: 15.9 PPG, 9.9 RPG, 1.5 APG, 0.6 SPG, 1.9 BPG, 1.6 TPG (30 games played, 32.2 minutes per game), 58.6% FG, 42.5% 3P, 63.4% FT
It’s easy to understand why some Kings fans are enamored by Ware. Ware is tall, long, and really athletic. He’d be an immediate lob threat, and has the size and athleticism to be a rim protector at the NBA level. He also shot well from three last season, 42.5%, but on just 1.3 attempts per game. Still, a rim-running, shot-blocking big man with demonstrated touch from deep? That sounds like a pretty perfect pairing with Domantas Sabonis.
The knocks on him are his toughness, competitiveness, and focus. Not ideal. To take a risk on Ware at 13 would require a leap of faith from the front office that Ware can grow past those weaknesses. If Ware can, regardless of where he ends up, he could be a steal of the draft. But we’ve seen guys coast through college on their athletic ability and then disappoint in the pros. The knocks on Ware remind me of the concerns around Willie Cauley-Stein before he was drafted. WCS was a serviceable player for a few years, but never became what we hoped for. That would be my worry with Ware.
Still, if the Kings were to draft Ware, it would be easy to talk myself into it. I’d be concerned about the motor, physicality, and focus, but I’d sooth myself with how perfect the on-paper fit would be next to Sabonis.
