Heat reportedly ‘determined to move on’ from Dion Waiters after latest suspension
Dion Waiters’ time in Miami, it seems, is rapidly coming to an end.
The Miami Heat are “determined to move on” from Waiters in the wake of his third suspension this season, and every option is “on the table” to make that happen, according to the Miami Herald.
The Heat suspended Waiters for six games on Thursday for a violation of team rules and policies and his “continued insubordination.” Waiters, per the report, told the team he couldn’t practice due to an illness last week before posting a photo to Instagram of him on a boat.
Waiters was suspended for the Heat’s season opener after “a number of unacceptable incidents” that reportedly stemmed from a disagreement between him and coach Erik Spoelstra. He was then suspended for 10 games a month later after a scary incident on a team flight to Los Angeles. Waiters reportedly ate a THC-infused gummy before boarding the chartered flight in an effort to find relief from a stomachache, and then suffered a panic attack on the flight.
Waiters has not yet played in a game this season.
The former Syracuse standout still has two years left on his four-year, $52 million deal with the Heat, and is set to earn more than $12 million both this season and next. While the Heat, per the report, are open to buying him out of his contract, Waiters is still “disinclined” to accept anything less than the full amount he’s owed.
Though Waiters reportedly wants to play this season, whether that be for Miami or another organization, he doesn’t want to lose nearly $25 million to do so.
Waiters averaged 12 points, 2.8 assists and 2.6 rebounds in 44 games for the Heat last season, his seventh in the league. Miami got out to a 19-7 start this year without him, and currently holds the third-best record in the Eastern Conference.
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