Dion Waiters Considering Offseason Surgery to Fix Nagging Ankle Injury

Dion Waiters has been playing on an injured left ankle, but he said he won't get it repaired until the offseason.     

On Tuesday, Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press reported the Miami Heat guard never healed from last year's injury that ended his season early. He is reportedly adamant no procedure will take place until after the 2017-18 campaign. 

After playing less than nine minutes in Friday's contest, Waiters did not see the floor Saturday against the New Orleans Pelicans, and he has no timetable for a return.

His plan seems to be to manage his pain until he can get to 100 percent, per the AP:

"I've played through it, though. I've got to. I'm not making any excuses. It is what it is. It's something I don't like to talk about because there's nothing we really can do right now but try to take care of it, get it stronger, things like that. I don't want to be in this predicament where it's a little tweak you've got to miss a decent amount just off a little tweak. That sucks."

Waiters has struggled when he's seen the floor this season, averaging 14.3 points per game but shooting just 39.8 percent from the field. He is shooting just 30.6 percent from three-point range after knocking down 39.5 percent of those looks last season.

The team has had significant offensive problems overall, ranking 23rd with 102.9 points scored per 100 possessions during its 17-16 start to the year, according to NBA.com.

While the Heat could use a healthy Waiters to provide production from the perimeter, his being in and out of the lineup doesn't help much.

Tyler Johnson should continue to see additional playing time when Waiters is unavailable. Everyone on the floor, however, will need to improve if the Heat—who are ninth in the Eastern Conference—are to compete for a playoff spot.