Report: Heat Guard Dion Waiters to Have Season-Ending Ankle Surgery

Waiters' surgery is tough news for a Heat team that's playing really well.

Heat guard Dion Waiters will undergo season-ending surgery on his left ankle, reports The Vertical's Shams Charania. 

Waiters has had issues with the left ankle for a while, and he's missed the last nine games after he turned the ankle in the first quarter of Miami's game against the Mavericks on Dec. 22. 

The decision to have the surgery represents a change of heart for Waiters, who previously told reporters that he was considering an operation but wouldn't have it done until after the season. Per Charania, he received multiple opinions on the ankle by doctors in Los Angeles before making the decision for surgery. 

The fifth-year guard out of Syracuse was averaging 14.3 points, 3.8 assists and 2.6 rebounds on the season but was shooting a shade under 40% from the field. 

Miami has won five straight and is 7-2 in Waiters's absence, a hot streak that has seen the Heat move to fourth place in the Eastern Conference.