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Dion Waiters Suspended Until Dec. 23 by Heat for Violation of Team Rules, More
December 13, 2019
The Miami Heat suspended Dion Waiters for a "failure to adhere to team policies, violation of team rules and continued insubordination," the team announced Thursday.
Waiters will be eligible to return to the court after the Heat's matchup with the Utah Jazz on Dec. 23. The 28-year-old guard has yet to make his 2019-20 debut.
This is the third time the Heat have suspended Waiters this season.
He missed Miami's season opener for "conduct detrimental to the team" after getting into an argument with head coach Erik Spoelstra on the bench in the final preseason game.
The Heat handed Waiters a 10-game ban in November following an incident on a team flight. ESPN's Brian Windhorst and Adrian Wojnarowski reported he was treated by medical personnel "because of a stomach ache and was seeking relief when he took an edible he was unfamiliar with."
The Associated Press' Tim Reynolds reported additional factors were at play:
Bobby Marks of ESPN noted Waiters has lost a little more than $1.4 million of his $12.1 million salary because of his various suspensions. He also lost out on a $1.2 million bonus that was based on making a minimum number of appearances.
Miami would presumably love to move on from Waiters altogether, but his contract makes that hard to do.
He's set to earn $12.7 million in 2020-21, so the team would have to absorb a lot of dead money to release him outright. Trading him won't be any easier. The Miami Herald's Barry Jackson reported Nov. 6 that "no palatable trade scenario had emerged for Waiters as of early this week."
The Heat at least haven't missed him in the rotation. They sit second in the Eastern Conference at 18-6 ahead of Friday's game against the Los Angeles Lakers.