Heat hit Waiters with a fine for expletive-laden postgame comments

Miami heat guard Dion Waiters is going to be a little lighter in the checkbook after the team hit him with a fine after he went off in some postgame comments which included some expletives.

Waiters has been miffed about playing time, and made the comments after the Heat's bad loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday evening 124-86.

The team had Wednesday off which is why the fine was not announced until Thursday.

“We fined him and we addressed it as a team,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said Thursday concerning the fine.

It's been a tough season for Waiters, who has spent more time watching than playing, as he's played in just five games this season, all as a backup.

Waiters missed just over a full year while recovering from surgery to repair a bothersome ankle, and has said more than once that waiting to get back on the court has not been easy.

The former Cavalier guard was a big part of the Heat the last two seasons, appearing in 76 games in his first two season, starting in 73 of those.

He’s averaged 16.1 points for Miami as a starter, 7.0 points for the Heat as a reserve.

“We value him. We need him,” Spoelstra said. “It won’t be on his terms. It’ll be on the team’s terms.”

Waiters continues to try to break into a lineup with the likes of Dwyane Wade, Josh Richardson, Rodney McGruder and Tyler Johnson all ahead of him, which has been part of the issue.

“I have empathy for everything he’s gone through in the last year to get back to where he is right now. But this is not about him. This is only about the team and it’s about winning," Spoelstra said.