Dion Waiters joins Heat for 1-year, $2.9 million deal
By Corey Young
Dion Waiters will be taking his talents to South Beach.
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The Miami Heat and former Oklahoma City shooting guard Dion Waiters have agreed on a 1-year deal for $2.9 million, according to the Associated Press. Miami is clearly looking for a replacement for 12x All-Star Dwyane Wade, who went back to his hometown to join the Chicago Bulls.
AP Sources with @ByTimReynolds: Dion Waiters has agreed to a 1-year deal with Heat for $2.9M exception.
— Jon Krawczynski (@JonKrawczynski) July 25, 2016
Waiters settled on a low contract in a NBA marketplace that dished out booming numbers this off-season. However, he did not help himself in a contract season scoring just 9.8 points per game shooting 39% from the field. Waiters has shown flashes of talent throughout his career, but he is a very streaky scorer that can get ice cold at times and isn’t reliable on the defensive end of the floor because of his lack of effort.
The move doesn’t come as a big surprise as Thunder made a trade with the Orlando Magic for three-year guard Victor Oladipo, who could cut into Waiters’ minutes. Waiters does not have the size at just 6’4 to play the small forward position, and lacks the play-making skills to play point guard. He needs to clean up his decision making and work on his on-ball defense if he wants to improve his overall game.
Although Waiters lacks in many areas on the floor, he is still a good spot up shooter who at times shows he can be a good defender. He is also only 24 years old, giving him much time to work on his skill sets and mature mentally. If he proves to become the player that he can be, he will remain in Miami’s rotation and give himself an opportunity to earn a bigger contract next off-season.
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