BOCA RATON, Fla. _ Dion Waiters revealed Wednesday at Miami Heat training camp that he was offered the option of ankle surgery last March that would have sidelined him for eight to 10 months.
Waiters said he continues to push through discomfort.
"Some days you're going to feel great, some days it might be just one of them days," he said after practice at Florida Atlantic University. "You have to push through it and be smart about the whole situation.
"The swelling just started going down. It's still a little bit swollen but it's not how it was before."
Waiters faced the surgery decision at a time when he stood as an impending free agent, ultimately winding up with a four-year, $52 million contract. The Heat were not in position to assure him of such a payout when surgery stood as an option in March, at the time also considering what became an unsuccessful free-agency bid for forward Gordon Hayward. Only after Hayward moved on to the Boston Celtics from the Utah Jazz did the Heat cycle back to Waiters and their own free agents.
Compounding Waiters' approach with the ankle this season is an incentive built into his new contract that calls for a $1.1 million payment if he appears in at least 70 games, which would limit him to no more than 12 absences during the regular season. The Heat open their regular season Oct. 18 at the Amway Center against the Orlando Magic.
Waiters discussed the soreness Wednesday only when asked, attempting to downplay his decision last season.
"When I found out, it was only two choices," he said of when he missed the final 13 games last season. "I'm not a big fan of surgery, so I try to avoid surgery. I didn't want to be out eight to 10 months. I asked for another solution, 'What's another way we can go about it?' We went that route, just getting it stronger, keep getting treatments every day all day. That's all I really do. But it's fine, though. I'm good, man."
Waiters said he is not surprised there has been lingering soreness.
"I knew it would take a while," he said. "I knew it was a bad one when I did it. I haven't felt any pain like that since I broke it in high school."
He said there already have been gains during camp.
"I'll get four or five treatments every day," he said. "Some days you're going to feel great, some days it might be just one of them days. You have to push through it and be smart about the whole situation."
He said he has remained proactive when it comes to his weight and conditioning, which was an issue upon his arrival as a free agent last summer, before rounding into Heat shape.
