Miami Heat will likely have to eat Dion Waiters’ remaining contract

After his third suspension of the season with the Miami Heat, they are probably going to have to eat the remainder of his contract.

Dion Waiters has been an enigma in every single destination he has played in. He has never seemed to fit into any team culture effectively. The Miami Heat have suspended Waiters three times this season, with the most recent ban of six games ending on Monday, and there is a good chance that the Heat will just have to eat the remainder of his contract.

The first suspension was just before the season started for detrimental conduct to the team. No one outside the Heat organisation is aware what the conduct was, but it cost Waiters the opening game of the season.

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The second suspension was for 10 games, which cost Waiters just under $1 million in lost salary. Waiters had a panic attack after ingesting THC-infused edibles on the team plane, although Waiters will not say who gave them to him.

This third suspension is one for the books. We have all called in sick and then proceeded to do something much more enjoyable than work. Waiters told the Heat that he was sick and then posted a picture of himself having fun on a boat.

When I fake a sickie, I don’t brag about it on my social media (nor am I a high-profile athlete whose socials are watched by potentially millions). I’m also not putting millions of dollars at risk by being reckless.

This is the suspension which is going to cause the Heat the most difficulty in moving Waiters. They are clearly not playing him, despite having multiple opportunities to … at least between suspensions.

Goran Dragic and Justise Winslow have been out for multiple games with injuries, leaving the Heat short at the guard position. Waiters has not played a game this season, which says the Heat are done with him as a player.

The problem for the Heat is that they signed Waiters to a four-year, $42 million contract , a contract that still has the rest of this season and 2020-21 remaining. This means the Heat have about $20.32 million of dead contract they need to offload (roughly $7.67 million for remainder of this season plus next season’s guaranteed $12.65 million).

They have multiple issues with this. They are operating under a hard cap, which limits their ability to take on any contracts larger than Waiters’. That being said, teams are not going to look at swapping contracts at a similar monetary value.

Players who are being paid similar money are Patty Mills, Patrick Beverley, Trevor Ariza, Jusuf Nurkic, Brook Lopez and Cory Joseph. No team is going to give away players with this level of productivity for a player with a troubled history. This is especially true due to Waiters having a year left on his deal.

Next season the Heat are going to have a little more breathing room, but they are still handicapped by James Johnson, who will be owed $18 million next season. He has also has not played a game this season after failing conditioning requirements prior to media day.

The Heat are also stretching the Ryan Anderson contract, which they had to do in July to complete the Jimmy Butler sign-and-trade. They are locked into this for another two seasons.

Unfortunately for the Heat, no team is going to take on the Waiters contract this season. They may have more luck next season but it is doubtful considering the history of the player.  The entire $20.32 million may not be completely without any on-court value, but the Miami Heat are locked in; at least for this season