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

Although Miami has not expanded on the specific incidents for the suspension, Waiters appeared to be increasingly frustrated that some of his minutes had been given to rookie Tyler Herro. 

The Philadelphia native logged only 10 minutes in Friday night's preseason finale and could be seen getting into a discussion with coach Erik Spoelstra. 

Entering his fourth season for Miami, the veteran is clearly not happy with his diminishing role. The suspension has the possibility to significantly impact Waiters' salary for the season.

The one game Dion Waiters suspension will cost the guard $83,448. There is no tax relief since it was a team issued suspension.

— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) October 20, 2019

Waiters also has a $1.2M bonus for playing in 70+ games. 1 game suspension could be a difference maker toward the end of the season. https://t.co/5OYrmMtfsE

— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) October 20, 2019

Waiters are permitted to return to the team this Thursday as he becomes the second player to face publicly announced punishment from Heat this season.