Heat wait for a healthy Dion
Coming months crucial as he trains for return from ankle surgery
MIAMI — If there was Dion Waiters, there might not have been a Dwyane Wade reunion. If there was Dion Waiters, Tyler Johnson likely would have remained in his comfort zone off the bench. If there was Dion Waiters, last July’s Miami Heat spending spree might not have come under such intense scrutiny at season’s end.
But for more than half of this past season, there was no Dion Waiters for the Heat, sidelined since late December with an ankle sprain that turned into season-ending surgery in January.
Based on the comments of Heat President Pat Riley earlier this week, not only have the Heat been unable to explore Waiters’ possibilities at the moments that matter most — last season’s playoff race, when Waiters missed the final 13 games due to the troublesome left ankle, as well as this season’s playoffs — but have yet to see the best of Waiters at all.
“I’ve had conversations with Dion. He was hurt. He was playing hurt for a year and a half for the most part,” Riley said. “I’m glad he had the surgery. I hope the surgery is 100 percent successful.
“You got a very talented 26-year-old player that still wants to make his mark and we don’t have to go out and pay somebody $25 million to get him to play. We’ll see what happens.”
Riley’s comments were made in response
to questioning about the Heat’s lack of salary-cap space this summer, the current inability to sign a free agent beyond the mid-level exception, and the need for a talent upgrade across the roster.
Limited to 30 games this past season, Waiters nonetheless finished second only to Goran Dragic’s team-leading 17.3 scoring average. But Waiters’ 14.3 scoring average was built on .398 shooting from the field, .306 shooting on 3-pointers. Even Johnson, amid his uneven season, was significantly better, at .435 and .367, respectively.
At 36, Wade showed in the playoffs that the go-to scoring now only is available in limited bursts. At 26, Waiters stands as the hope of something more protracted, especially with no guarantee of a Wade return.
“Dion, at his best, gets in the paint whenever he wants,” said Heat guard Rodney McGruder, who returned from his preseason leg injury only after Waiters was lost for the season. “He collapses the defense and really helps shooters out and gets guys easy baskets. He’s a beast. He is.”
He also is versatile, if erratic. In 2016-17, Waiters often played as the backup point guard behind Dragic, with Johnson, Justise Winslow and even Wade forced into that role at times this season.
The question now becomes whether Waiters will be ready for training camp, or if the uncertainty will head into the second season of the four-year, $52 million contract signed in July.
“I’m not sure when, but he’s going to be more than 100 percent. If this was 100 percent this year, he’s going to be better than that next year, that’s for sure,” coach Erik Spoelstra said of his guard’s rebuilt ankle. “I don’t think he’s felt right physically since when he first got here. He got in great shape, but once he injured his ankle, then he was always dealing with that.
“So I think this is going to be a really important summer for him. He’s going to be here and he’ll be working a ton behind the scenes just to get his legs right, then he’ll work on the next step of getting in world-class shape, and then he’ll get into the next phase of really developing his basketball skills.”
Waiters has been working behind the scenes at AmericanAirlines Arena for months, rehabbing in the training room amid the Heat’s late-season games.
Somewhat forgotten is that the last time Waiters made it to the playoffs — the only time in his career — he was the type of productive contributor the Heat missed in their recent series against the Philadelphia 76ers, appearing in 18 games for the Oklahoma City Thunder during the 2015-16 playoffs, shooting 21 of 56 on 3-pointers.
“He’s been working,” Spoelstra said, “and these next five months will be pivotal for his process.”
Including the process of sorting out roles.
“I really enjoyed playing point guard,” Winslow said, “and I think that’s something as the offseason goes on I’ll sit down and talk to Spo more about and just understand that we were missing Dion out there and just understand how we’re going to try to put this whole thing together.”