After Thursday’s NBA draft, Miami Heat president Pat Riley gave an update on Heat guard Dion Waiters and his recovery from ankle surgery.
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“Dion had a CT scan the other day and his ankle is coming along extremely well. So, that is a long process of rehab. He’s been in Philadelphia for a while getting therapy. He’s back in town now getting therapy. He was on the Ultra G today,” said Riley. “So now I think the real rehab and conditioning come over the next three months as he gets his body back in shape and one day hopefully back on the court where he can run.”
Waiters underwent season-ending surgery on his left ankle in January in order to “repair instability and a preexisting navicular bone fracture.” Prior to the surgery, Waiters had played in 30 games (all starts) for the Heat, averaging 14.3 points, 2.6 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game. In the 30 games Waiters appeared in, the Heat had a record of 16-14.
Although Riley said that the recovery was going well, he wouldn’t commit to saying that Waiters would be back for the start of training camp.
“We hope that he’s ready for training camp,” said Riley. “But we’re not going to push that. What I’m saying is that from this point forward you have to get to another level of rehab and how much movement he can do actually. Putting weight on it remains to be seen. But the scan came out extremely well.”
After re-signing with the Heat in the summer of 2017 on a four-year, $52 million deal, the 26-year-old struggled with his shooting as his percentages dropped from his first season in Miami. Last season, he shot 39.8 percent from the field and 30.6 percent from three. For the 2016-17 season, Waiters shot 42.4 percent from the field and 39.5 percent from three.
When the Heat went 30-11 to close out the 2016-17 season, Waiters was arguably the best player on the team, averaging 18.4 points, 3.6 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game. He also shot 46.7 percent from the field and 44.5 percent from three during that 41-game run. The Heat can only hope that the Syracuse University product returns to this type of level next season, which will be his third in Miami.
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