According to The Athletic, following his ejection from Tuesday night’s victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder, Miami Heat center Dewayne Dedmon will serve a one-game suspension. After a contentious argument with Miami’s coaching staff in the second quarter, it culminated in one of the most bizarre ejections you’ll ever witness.
The play was stopped because something unexpectedly flew onto the court as the Heat’s Gabe Vincent brought the ball up the floor. After arguing with the Heat coaching staff, Dedmon angrily threw a hand-held massage gun, which was later revealed to be what it was. The game immediately ended with Dedmon being removed.
It’s unclear precisely what Dedmon and the coaching staff were arguing about, but on the play just before the timeout, he took a hesitant swipe at the ball during a Kenrich Williams drive.
“The Miami Heat is playing. All of us have gnarly personalities,’ according to head coach Erik Spoelstra. “It was unfortunate that part. The Miami Heat are represented by everything before that. I didn’t like that part of it.”
Dedmon is now in his third season with the Heat and has experienced some difficulties in recent months. He is only averaging 11 points per nine minutes, the lowest mark of his career, and hasn’t made a single start in any games. Dedmon remained on the sidelines despite Bam Adebayo’s absence on Tuesday, while versatile player Orlando Robinson joined the starting lineup.
The Heat will likely try to make a move at the trade deadline, given that they are only 22-20 and outside the top six in the Eastern Conference. Given that his salary is not guaranteed for 2023–24 season and younger players on the roster appear to have surpassed him, Dedmon already seemed like a candidate to move. It looks even more likely that the Heat will consider moving Dedmon after this incident.