With Dion Waiters suspension coming to an end, what next? And Steve Kerr on Kendrick Nunn.
Dion Waiters’ 10-game suspension is coming to an end.
The Heat announced on Nov. 10 that it suspended Waiters for 10 games without pay for conduct detrimental to the team. Friday’s game against the Warriors at AmericanAirlines Arena marks the 10th and final game of that suspension, with the 27-year-old guard eligible to play again in Sunday’s matchup against the Nets at Barclays Center.
But there is still little clarity, at least publicly, on how the Heat will handle Waiters’ impending return. Sunday’s game against the Nets is the start of a three-game trip for the Heat, with Waiters’ status for the trip still uncertain.
“We do have a plan in our inner circle, but nothing to address today,” coach Erik Spoelstra said Friday morning in advance of the Heat’s home game against the Warriors when asked about the team’s plan with Waiters moving forward.
Waiters’ 10-game suspension is related to a series of events involving Waiters that began with complaining about playing time in the preseason, continued with social media shots directed at Spoelstra and teammate Tyler Herro and it culminated with an alarming medical situation involving Waiters on the Heat’s flight from Phoenix to Los Angeles on the night of Nov. 7, a source told the Miami Herald.
The Heat released the following statement on Nov. 10 upon announcing Waiters’ 10-game suspension: “We are very disappointed in Dion’s actions this season that include the very scary situation on Thursday night, and grateful that the outcome wasn’t worse.
“There have been a number of instances this season in which Dion has engaged in conduct detrimental to the team. Accordingly, he will be suspended without pay for 10 games, including the Lakers game last Friday, and will be eligible to return after the Golden State Warriors game on November 29th.
“We are proud of how our players have started the season. We expect all of our players, including Dion, to conduct themselves in accordance with the highest standards, and to show professionalism and respect for their teammates, the team, the fans and the NBA community.”
Waiters, who has yet to play or even appear on the bench since the regular season began, was also suspended by the Heat for the first game of the season for what the team called unprofessional conduct.
The National Basketball Players Association recently filed an appeal of Waiters’ two team-issued suspensions, a league source confirmed last week. The appeal is over wages lost, with both suspensions costing Waiters about $913,000 in salary.
The appeal does not include an attempt to recover the $1.2 million bonus Waiters missed out on for appearing in at least 70 of Miami’s 82 games.
During Waiters’ 10-game suspension, he traveled to Syracuse, New York. Along with watching his alma mater defeat Seattle on Nov. 16, Waiters also used the trip to seek advice from Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim, who he played under for two seasons before entering the NBA.
“I’m not going to lie to you, I’m in a great place,” Waiters said to The Post-Standard while at the Syracuse-Seattle game. “I can only control what I can control at the end of the day, so some things you just can’t allow to take your head the other way, some things happen for a reason. If you stay locked in, if you believe and trust in yourself, trust in the work you put in, you know, it’s a minor setback. It happens. It’s life. You learn from it. The only thing I can do is move forward. Stay focused. Stay even-keeled. Let everything else take care of itself.”
Waiters is in the third season of a four-year, $52 million contract he signed with the Heat in the summer of 2017. He has been off limits by the Heat for comment since his initial suspension at the beginning of the regular season.
Remember me?
Heat guard Kendrick Nunn is familiar with the Warriors organization after spending last season with Golden State’s G League affiliate, the Santa Cruz Warriors. But Nunn never played for the Warriors in an NBA game, with Golden State not having room for him on its roster.
“He’s putting up huge numbers and more than anything I’m just really happy for him,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said Friday of Nunn, who signed with Golden State shortly after he went undrafted in 2018. “Anytime you see a guy work his way up from the G League and get his chance and make the most of it, it’s awesome to see. We had Kendrick in training camp last year and we didn’t have a spot for him. Our roster was filled up and we had a lot of guys playing ahead of him so he wouldn’t have gotten the opportunity with us.
“I think Miami was really smart with what they did last year. I think they signed him on the last day of the season. They saw something they liked and obviously they were right, and Kendrick has made the most of it. So it’s a great story.”
The Heat signed Nunn to a non-guaranteed two-year contract on the final day of the 2018-19 regular season.
▪ Heat wing Jimmy Butler is expected to play Friday against the Warriors after missing Wednesday’s loss to the Rockets with an illness. Butler participating in Friday morning’s shootaround session.
Derrick Jones Jr. (strained left hip), KZ Okpala (strained left Achilles) and Waiters remain out.
This story was originally published November 29, 2019 at 3:19 PM.
