A year ago, Dion Waiters was coming of his third Miami Heat suspension of the season for insubordination, deeply buried in Erik Spoelstra’s doghouse. From that exile, he emerged with a Los Angeles Lakers 2020 championship ring.
Now, as the calendar turns to 2021, the enigmatic former Heat guard, unable to find work in the NBA, indicated he is considering retirement at 29.
“It ain’t anything I’m planning,” Waiters posted on his Instagram feed. “I been contemplating it, though, about retiring. I mean, it’s the politics for me.
“Game-wise, we know what’s up. I just, I can’t do the politics, man. We ain’t going over that well, we ain’t going over that water. I’ll retire before that. I’m 29.”
Waiters was one of several players the Lakers did not offer return contracts, as they remade their roster around LeBron James and Anthony Davis. J.R. Smith, who joined the Lakers with Waiters at midseason in 2019-20, also is currently out of the league.
Waiters received both a share from the Lakers’ playoff pool and a championship ring, despite appearing in only seven regular-season games for the Lakers, and then for only 38 minutes in the Lakers’ playoff run, inactive for all six games of the NBA Finals against the Heat. The Lakers won that series 4-2.
Still at issue is the $1.42 million in lost salary from his three Heat suspensions last season that totaled 17 games. That amount is being held in a grievance escrow account, with a resolution between the Heat and NBA players’ union expected early next year.
Waiters received all of his $12.7 million salary for this season in advance once he was released by the Memphis Grizzlies last February, following his acquisition along with Justise Winslow and James Johnson from the Heat in exchange for Andre Iguodala, Jae Crowder and Solomon Hill. He then signed with the Lakers after being waived by Memphis.
Waiters appeared in three games for the Heat last season.
