The Sixers and Kings are teams in need of backcourt help and both franchises may make a run at Thunder shooting guard Dion Waiters, Michael Scotto of Sheridan Hoops relays (on Twitter). Waiters will be eligible for restricted free agency this summer, provided Oklahoma City submits a qualifying offer worth $6,777,589. Otherwise, Waiters will hit the open market as an unrestricted free agent and OKC would not have the ability to match any offer he were to ink.
It’s unclear if the Thunder intend to re-sign Waiters this summer and his fate may very well be linked to the free agency decision of Kevin Durant. If Durant re-signs with the team, OKC won’t have enough cap space to ink a suitable replacement, which would markedly increase the likelihood of the team retaining Waiters. But, if Durant departs, the team may not be willing to commit to Waiters on a long-term pact. The Oklahoman’s Anthony Slater has speculated that Waiters could command a salary in the range of $12MM to $16MM range annually on his next contract, which may be too rich a deal for the Thunder to commit to if they need to begin rebuilding in the wake of a Durant departure.
The Sixers would be an interesting fit for Waiters given their need for backcourt scoring. The guard, who hails from Philadelphia, has said in the past that he would be interested in playing for the Sixers, which would certainly aid the team’s recruitment efforts if true. Sacramento’s backcourt could also use an influx of talent, though I don’t necessarily view Waiters as much of an upgrade of Ben McLemore, who currently sits atop the Kings’ depth chart at the two.
Waiters made 78 appearances for the Thunder this past season, including 15 starts. He notched averages of 9.8 points, 2.6 rebounds an 2.0 assists in 27.6 minutes per outing while shooting .399/.358/.713.
A shooting guard that can’t shoot. I hope the Sixers pass.
With Oladipo on the team, I’m not sure there is a need for Waiters on the Thunder. I’m sure Waiters will be elsewhere next year.
This. That being said, I think they’ll give him a qualifying offer. They may try for a sign and trade to get the trade exception
The Sixers are the perfect situation for Waiters. With Ben Simmons facilitating, Dion’s job is to guard opposing point guards and score. He doesn’t have to be a distributor. This is a no-brainer. Philadelphia has not one player who can defend and at the same time get a shot on their own.
Waiters plays defense when he’s got stars like Durant and Russell riding his ass. I think if he went to philly he’d go back to chucking up poor shots and playing no defense.
lmao perfect a scrub for some scrub teams hope he gets a max.
I’m not a fan of Waiters attitude and I think a guy like him with the 76ers he would be terrible for a guy like Ben Simmons to be exposed to. I doubt Waiters has the psyche to withstand being on a team going nowhere. They’ll have to massively overpay and that wouldn’t make siense.
sense
He’s a chucker, but he bricks a lot. NOT a good fit for a team full of bigs.
Perfect fit for the sixers
No desire to see him land in Sacramento. He is talented, that has never been in question. The issue is he has a terrible shot selection and according to two teams now, a poor attitude.
A team that can handle his BS makes sense. The 76ers and Kings are not those teams.