NBA Rumors: Dion Waiters Tantrum Likely Last Straw For Heat

Dion Waiters of the Miami Heat is one of several players on the trading block. The talk on a possible deal has bogged down but it appears these will crop up again soon. The 27-year-old has been suspended for one game for conduct detrimental to the team. He will miss their match against the Memphis Grizzlies on Oct. 23.

The announcement was made Saturday night. This means that Waiters can only make his 2019-20 NBA season debut on Saturday against the Milwaukee Bucks. It appears some incidents stemming from unprofessional conduct spurred the suspension. Heat president Pat Riley did not get into detail, the Miami Herald reported.

“There were a number of unacceptable incidents this week, culminating with his unprofessional conduct on the bench last night,” Heat president Pat Riley said in the statement issued by the team. “As a consequence, I feel we had to suspend him.”

In the preseason, Waiters was relegated to a reserve role in each of the four games. The 27-year-old guard made it clear that he wanted to start. Unfortunately, it was not his call to make and head coach Erik Spoelstra was non-committal on the matter. It remains to be known if this had anything to do with Waiters' tantrums.

Ironically, this will be the second time that the Heat have a punished player this season. Previously, it was James Johnson who was not allowed to attend training camp for being out of shape. Ironically, these two players were among the four cagers the Heat placed on the block.

Hassan Whiteside has already been shipped to the Portland Trail Blazers while Goran Dragic almost went to the Dallas Mavericks. Talks fell through between the Mavs and the Heat, meaning the Slovenian guard will still suit up for Miami this coming NBA season.

Riley previously mentioned that he plans to make some changes on the Heat's culture. And based on how things have been going the past months, it appears he is dead serious to make the change.

“It’s just taking things for granted, letting things slide, being a little bit late, not being on time. I told you what I hated, I hate complaining, gossiping and guys that don’t work hard. I have a hard time with players that don’t tuck their shirts in. It’s very unprofessional. It’s all of these things. Maybe I’m a little bit too picky. But I just believe in uber-professionalism. That’s all,” said Riley.