Dion Waiters holds a $3MM player option to remain with the Heat for the 2017/18 season. He’s likely to turn that down, but it doesn’t mean he’s looking for a new team.
“I want to be there,” Waiters said of Miami on The Hochman and Crowder Show on WQAM (h/t Anthony Chiang of the Palm Beach Post). “When that time comes and we sit down, we just got to make it happen. Let’s get it over with as quick as possible.”
The Philadelphia native cites “Heat culture” as a reason he wants to return to South Beach next season.
“The things that they preach to us and really speaking it into existence, and being able to really buy in and see the results,” Waiters added. “I think once you start seeing the results, you start to trust the process more. That was my whole thing. My thing was about seeing the results. When I listen and I’m locked in, you see the results. And as far as my body, just being able to maintain the weight that I lost to help my play was huge for me.”
Waiters had a productive year one in Miami. He scored 15.8 points per contest and Chaing envisions him signing a contract with annual values around $15MM. The shooting guard made just under $3MM this season and he’s made slightly under $20MM during his five-year career.
Miami can carve out approximately $38MM in cap room this summer. Pat Riley has been known to chase stars and if one wants to join the Heat on a max contract, the team wouldn’t have the flexibility to add Waiters on a lucrative deal. Despite the threat of a bigger fish joining the team, the 25-year-old is optimistic about his chances of returning to the franchise.
“I think I’ll be back [with the Heat],” Waiters said. “We just got to make it work and hopefully everything can come together full circle.”
Please!!
James johnson is priority #1 of our own free agents. Then it’s figure out our options. If our best option is Dion, I’d like to have him back. We’re going to need to find a backup 5 comparable to Willie Reed (a guy that can defend pick and roll, cover ground defensively, protect the rim, and catch and finish), as obviously, he’s going to opt out, and there won’t be enough cap space to retain him (I think he’ll get 5-7 million at the least), unless the Heat only make a marginal addition and/or somehow find a way to move McRoberts other than by using the stretch provision. If they can keep James Johnson at 12 million, and Waiters at 14, that gives them some room to hopefully operate, plus the mid level (I haven’t looked into it myself yet, but does anyone know what midlevel could be available to the Heat, and if they can give it to Willie Reed?)
jj for 12 million? I think pat would offer a 6 million
Did you not see him play this year? 12 million is arguably light