Free agency is when everything is possible. No matter how small your market is, all it takes is one sensational pitch. Because we’re helpful people here at The Step Back, we’re each picking teams and penning our best offers to the free agents we think those teams should chase. Here’s what we have for Dion Waiters.
Philadelphia 76ers
Dion, it’s time to take our relationship from flirtation to heavy petting. Last summer, Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer revealed we had “some interest” in signing you, but we also had reservations about you “returning home to play.” Pompey also reported you had a “strong desire” to play for us, as it would allow you “to play in front of family members and friends regularly for the first time.” After seeing you erupt for a career year in Miami — complete with back-to-back ice-cold game-winning 3-pointers — we’re confident you’d be a positive presence in our locker room. You went from No. 4 pick to sloughed-off afterthought, which would help teach some of our young lottery picks not to worry about their draft status anymore (yes, we’re subtweeting Jahlil Okafor here). We’re also intrigued by your improved 3-point efficiency and potential as a secondary ball-handler alongside Markelle Fultz and Ben Simmons.
Come home and prove to the rest of the NBA that last year’s version of you is here to stay.
Our offer: Three years, $50 million
— Bryan Toporek (@btoporek)
Phoenix Suns
Dion Waiters. It has such a nice ring to it, doesn’t it? I could sit here and say your name all day. You probably could too. But let’s get down to business.
There are no rings in Phoenix, so we can’t pull a Pat Riley and dump them all on the table. That’s why we need you, Dion. We need you to get us a ring. We saw what you did in Miami last season. You’re the missing piece to our team, and every team.
Imagine having Devin Booker by your side, with the utmost confidence our franchise can put in the both of you. This team is going to be hell to play again. We’re going to come into every game thinking, no, knowing we have a shot. And we will win a lot of them.
We’re not a complete team just yet, because no team is complete without Dion Waiters. We’ve heard the mean things people have said about you. We just don’t care. You and Devin and Eric Bledsoe would make us a dynamic offensive team, and we’d surround you three with shooters and good defenders at the forward and center spots to make the team solid. Let’s have some fun next year, shall we?
Our offer: Four years, $80 million ($20 million per year average).
— Ti Windisch (@TiWindisch)
Miami Heat
Dion! How you doing? Everything well? Family doing well? How’s the cheese steak? (Laughs)
Alright, let’s get to brass tax. You want to be here, we want you to be here. We know what you’re capable of, Dion. That game winner against the Warriors? That was awesome. You know what would be even more awesome? Doing that in a playoff game. Doing that in the Finals. We need you here.
The final two minutes are yours.
Let’s finish what we started in the second half of last season. We would have made the playoffs if you didn’t get hurt in the last month. We will make the playoffs next season with you healthy and in even better shape. And you know we’re planning on adding to this group.
I know you’re getting a lot of offers and you should be, but let’s figure out a way to make everyone happy. Here’s the deal, we can’t offer you what you’re worth because we are trying to build something here. Other teams will be able to offer you more, but they don’t have the same aspirations as we do.
What they can’t give you is the culture that you thrived in. You took your game to a new level in one season in Miami, imagine what you can do in two, three, four seasons here. What if you spent the rest of your career here?
We’ve seen players like you here before Dion. Guys like Tim Hardaway and Dwyane Wade. What they had early in their careers that you didn’t was the right fit. Together, we can make each other great.
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So we’re going to offer a four-year deal at $60 million, with a player option in the final year. That way, we’ll have your bird rights and can offer you what you’re worth then. You’ll be in your prime, and even better than you are now. In the meantime, that will give us enough room under the salary cap to put a winning team together. What do you say, Dion? Let’s make Florida the Waiters Peninsula.
Our offer: Four years, $60 million, player option in year four.
— Wes Goldberg (@wcgoldberg)