Heat suspend Waiters 1 game for 'unprofessional conduct'

The Miami Heat suspended veteran guard Dion Waiters for Wednesday's season-opening game against the Memphis Grizzlies, the team announced Saturday.

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

Waiters played 10 minutes in Friday's preseason finale against the Houston Rockets, though most eyes were affixed to the team's rookies - particularly a 40-point effort from undrafted guard Kendrick Nunn.

The Heat said the 27-year-old will be allowed to return to the team Thursday.

Waiters, who is entering the third season of his four-year, $52-million deal, has battled injuries in his three seasons with the Heat. When healthy, the sharp-shooting guard has averaged 14 points with 3.6 assists per game while shooting 36.5% from beyond the 3-point arc since joining the team in 2016.