Dion Waiters Out Indefinitely After Ankle Injury Diagnosed as Sprain

Miami Heat shooting guard Dion Waiters is nursing a sprained left ankle, and there is reportedly no timetable for his return, according to the Sun Sentinel's Ira Winderman. 

"We'll evaluate him every day," head coach Erik Spoelstra said Saturday, per Winderman. "He had an X-ray [Friday] night. He had an MRI [Saturday] morning. Both were negative.

"It is a sprained ankle. So he'll have to go through our process of getting it better, getting it healthier, getting it stronger. And then we'll go from there."

Waiters was limited to 46 appearances during his first season with the Heat because of ankle injuries, but he was a revelation when healthy. 

In a career-high 30.1 minutes per game, Waiters averaged 15.8 points, 4.3 assists and 3.3 rebounds on 42.4 percent shooting from the field and 39.5 percent shooting from three.

Thanks to those efforts, Waiters was rewarded with a four-year, $52 million deal in free agency.

Now attempting to live up to the expectations that accompany the pricey deal, Waiters is averaging 14.3 points and 3.8 dimes on 39.8 percent shooting from the field, including 30.6 percent from distance. 

The Heat have solid depth on the wing with Josh Richardson and Wayne Ellington, but neither of them packs the same kind of potent scoring punch Waiters does when he's operating at full strength.