Miami Heat big man Hassan Whiteside has been wearing a protective knee brace on his troublesome left knee since returning from a 13-game absence. However, he shed his knee brace early in the Heat’s game against the Orlando Magic.

That move did not please Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra, who has made it clear that Whiteside will need to wear the brace or he won’t play.

“That’s not going to happen any more or he’s not going to be out there,” Spoelstra said per Manny Navarro of the Miami Hearld. “He had discomfort [wearing it]. We expect that – just like a guy wearing an ankle brace or taped ankle. The first few times you do it it’s uncomfortable, it’s new. But we want to protect him. He’s going to wear it. That's non-negotiable.”

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It’s understandable for Whiteside to want to do without the restrictive brace, which he claims is “extremely uncomfortable.”

However, the Heat have millions of dollars invested in Whiteside, and it only makes sense that they would want to do everything they can to protect him and prevent another injury setback on his knee to occur.

Unless Whiteside wants to risk angering his coach and the organization as a whole, he’ll be a good soldier and adjust to playing with his knee brace going forward.