Shooting guard Dion Waiters left Oklahoma City this offseason in order to sign a team-friendly two-year pact with the Heat. The player sat down with Erik Horne of The Oklahoman to discuss a number of topics, including his departure from the Thunder and his expectations with Miami. The entire interview is worth a look, but here are a few of the highlights:
On what he believes his mission to be this season:
“Just go out there and playing every night. Playing hard. Do what I do. Just enjoy the experience as far as just learning how to be a dominant player every night, not just on the offensive end but the defensive end. Knowing I’m giving my team a chance to win every night. Being able to enjoy the good and the bad, trying to be consistent every night. Being able to have that opportunity to do those things. Every night is not going to be your night, I understand that. But I learned how to impact the game other ways and I think my defense, my playmaking ability is surprising a lot of people. I never really had many opportunities to show my playmaking ability.”
On his relationship with Kevin Durant during the 2015/16 season:
“It was special just for me and him because we opened up to one another as far as real life stuff, what happened growing up, things like that. We got kinda close. We was more alike off the court just growing up. We grew up similar. We built that relationship. That’s why I hung out with him pretty much all the time – him, A-Mo, Cam, Russ. We built that camaraderie, that loyalty. We could talk to each other on the court when everybody thinks we’re cussing each other out. In reality, we’re playing.”
On his reaction when he found out Durant signed with the Warriors:
“I don’t know to be honest with you. He made his decision as a man. He probably wanted change in his life, to do different things. He knew all that was gonna come and he left for that challenge to see how you grow, you grow as a person. I wasn’t shocked or anything, I just was like … ‘OK.’ Everyone was stealing my phone like ‘you knew you knew.’ I was like ‘no.’”
On if he was disappointed that he didn’t re-sign with the Thunder:
“At first I was but then it was like … life goes on. At the end of the day, everything happens for a reason. Once the team was pretty much broken up, I kinda figured where it was going, so I just wanted to make the best decision for me. Not for money or things like that. I wanted to go somewhere I could have fun and try to prove myself. Even though the team we had could have won it all, it is what is.”
On the extent of his negotiations with OKC this past offseason:
“We had talks but we wanted to wait it out. We talked about certain things, what was gonna happen, but it never happened. I don’t want to talk about it. It is what it is. It’s business. I ain’t gonna get into all that happened. That ain’t who I am. You’ve gotta roll with the punches.
At the end of the day, I wish they would have done whatever they were gonna do earlier. That’s my biggest thing right there. You pretty much knew. If they would have just done it earlier, I would have respected it because we had offers. A lot. I didn’t know what was going on. I was kinda in the dark. I was actually working out when that happened [when the Thunder rescinded Waiters’ offer sheet]. … But I love the fans. I love the people. They’ll always be in my heart. Some of the best fans ever, especially all year long just supporting us when I was there.”
Instead of Dion Waiters who if nothing else could sell some tickets as a Philly native, the Sixers still have tons of cap space and Gerald Henderson lying on the floor twice after trying to close out a game flailing about to get his own shot.