MIAMI _ With Dion Waiters' latest suspension ending with the Miami Heat's Monday night game against the visiting Utah Jazz, the greater question could be his NBA career itself.
ESPN analyst Bobby Marks, a former executive with the Brooklyn Nets, reported Monday, "Waiters' career is likely over, barring an incredibly unlikely turnaround."
The latest suspension, a six-game ban issued on Dec. 12, is the Heat's third of the season issued to Waiters, who has yet to appear in a game this season.
In issuing the latest sanction, the Heat issued a release that concluded, "His suspension will begin immediately, and he will be eligible to return following the conclusion of the game against the Utah Jazz on December 23."
That wording would mean a return to practice this week and eligible to be on the active roster for Friday night's game at AmericanAirlines Arena against the Indiana Pacers.
The last time Waiters was eligible to return from suspension, after a 10-game ban that ended Nov. 23, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said:
"His conditioning is at least at a level where we can work with him and get him to the next step, and we just want to put this all behind us, get him with the team, and move on from here."
Spoelstra then held Waiters, 28, out of the next three games by "Coach's Decision," with Waiters then listed as ill for the following three games that preceded the current suspension. The Heat then cited, "failure to adhere to team policies, violation of team rules and continued insubordination."
Among options going forward are a return by Waiters to a team that has developed a successful rotation in his absence, an agreement to remain away from the team with full pay, a buyout, a trade, being released by the Heat with full pay, or the Heat invoking an element of the collective-bargaining agreement that could allow for the revoking of his contract.
Reporting from the NBA's annual G League Showcase in Las Vegas, Marks said an NBA executive told ESPN, "The Waiters contract is as close to untradeable that I have ever seen in the NBA."
Waiters is due the remainder of his $12.1 million salary this season and $12.7 million salary next season, on the final two years of the four-year, $52 million free-agency contract he signed with the Heat after a breakout 2016-17 season.
Also suspended for the season opener for "conduct detrimental to the team," each of the 17 games under suspension has cost Waiters $83,500 in salary, bringing that total to $1.42 million in lost wages.
According to Marks, "The expense required to move Waiters doesn't appear palatable. Miami is not attaching Kendrick Nunn, Bam Adebayo, Duncan Robinson or Tyler Herro to incentivize a deal. Even if the Heat were willing to include a draft pick as a sweetener, they aren't allowed to trade a first-rounder this season."
Teams are not allowed to trade successive future first-round picks, with the Heat's 2021 first-round pick currently held by the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Another option for the Heat would be to utilize what the league calls "the stretch provision," a mechanism that would spread Waiters' remaining salary over three future seasons. While the Heat previously has utilized the mechanism in waiving the contracts of A.J. Hammons and Ryan Anderson, such an approach with Waiters would run counter to the Heat's goal of maximizing potential 2021 salary-cap space.
As for Waiters' approach, the team has not made him available for comment this season, saying that would change if/when he appears in a game.
Upon returning from his previous suspension, Waiters issued a statement on Nov. 30 that read:
"I would like to apologize to my teammates, coaches, basketball staff, the fans and the entire organization for the incident that happened on the team plane. I was wrong and take responsibility for what happened and am sorry for what it put everyone through. I am happy to be back with my teammates and am looking forward to getting back on the court playing basketball."
There is no Heat relief from the luxury tax or salary cap with the suspensions because they are team issued.
A buyout is unlikely with an additional season remaining on Waiters' contract that could potentially be used to balance a future trade.
