Dion Waiters better get healthy soon or it will cost him

Dion Waiters better get healthy soon or it will cost him

A bonus built into Waiters’ contract should encourage him to get back on the court

By Matt Pineda @pinedaHEAT

The Miami Heat built bonuses into a couple of the contracts they signed this off-season with players. And one of those was with Dion Waiters and how many games he will play.

Dishing out a large contract to Waiters was hard, especially since he missed so much time last season. Waiters missed two games earlier this season before this current 7, soon to be 9, game stretch he is currently missing.

That’s why the Miami Heat built a $1.1 million bonus into Waiters’ contract if he played in 70 games this season. So far, Waiters has played in 30 games, and he’s also going to miss the next two games. And that will be the midway point of the season.

In 30 games, Waiters has averaged 14.3 PPG this season.

Meaning Waiters will have to play in 40 of the remaining 41 games, starting Sunday to earn that bonus.

We have no idea of Waiters will be ready by then but it doesn’t seem likely. We haven’t been given any updates other than he was seeking additional opinions on his injured ankle.

Regardless, Waiters should be encouraged to get back on the court this weekend, but if he isn’t back in the next four games, waive goodbye to that extra $1.1 million on his contract.