Here’s the latest development in the Waiters saga. And Nunn makes history
Heat guard Dion Waiters is officially off suspension. But that doesn’t mean he will resume playing immediately.
Coach Erik Spoelstra said Tuesday morning that even though Waiters has been reinstated, he will not be on the active roster for Tuesday’s home game against the Atlanta Hawks.
Waiters did not participate in the team’s shootaround on Tuesday morning.
“He’ll be here tonight,” Spoelstra said. “He will work out [but] he will not be active tonight. Then we’ll take it from there. Enough has been said about it, and we’ll take it day by day.”
Waiters has been away from the team since serving his one-game suspension in Wednesday’s opener for conduct detrimental to the team.
According to sources, that included openly complaining about playing time while on the bench for the Heat’s Oct. 18 preseason finale against Houston and for refusing to do one of his required weigh-ins that week.
Heat president Pat Riley issued a statement when the suspension was announced, noting that “there were a number of unacceptable incidents this week, culminating with his unprofessional conduct on the bench last night. As a consequence, I feel we had to suspend him.”
Though Waiters lost 15 pounds during the offseason, Spoelstra has said previously that Waiters hadn’t achieved the optimal conditioning level that the Heat expected.
Waiters has two years and $25 million left on his contract. He has a $1.1 million bonus in his contract for appearing in at least 70 of Miami’s 82 games this season.
Meanwhile, forward James Johnson also will be inactive for a fourth consecutive game, as he continues to work toward meeting the team’s conditioning requirements regarding body fat.
Johnson has yet to appear in a preseason or regular season game because of conditioning issues.
“Enough has been said. He’s not ready right now,” Spoelstra said when asked about Johnson’s continued absence from the active roster. “When he is, I’ll let you know.”
Also not playing Tuesday: swingman Derrick Jones Jr., who strained his left groin during Saturday’s win over the Bucks.
Jimmy Butler, who missed the first three games because of the birth of his daughter, participated in shootaround and is expected to play Tuesday.
Spoelstra said rookie forward KZ Ozpala eventually will be sent to the G-League for some work, and forward Chris Silva (on a two-way contract) will remain with the Heat for now. Silva is permitted to spend 45 days with the Heat this season.
NUNN FEAT
According to basketballreference.com and noted by Hoopshabit reporter Simon Smith, Heat guard Kendrick Nunn is one of only five players in NBA history to score at least 67 points in the first three games of his NBA career while shooting at least 51.9 percent from the field.
The others: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Dominique Wilkins, Grant Hill and Shaquille O’Neal.
Even though Nunn has been a professional player for more than a year, he’s eligible for NBA Rookie of the Year. Nunn entered the week 22nd in the league in scoring.
This story was originally published October 29, 2019 at 11:51 AM.
