Heat, Knicks, Lakers Still In On Dion Waiters

Dion Waiters may be nearing a decision on his free agent destination, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, who reports (via Twitter) that the Waiters situation is “inching closer to resolution.” Waiters is considering the Heat, Knicks, and Lakers, per Wojnarowski.

Waiters, who earned less than $3MM in 2016/17, had a big year for the Heat, averaging 15.8 PPG, 4.3 APG, and 3.3 RPG with a shooting line of .424/.395/.646. Although he was limited to 46 games (43 starts), the 25-year-old appears likely to parlay his performance in Miami into a much bigger payday this summer after turning down his player option with the club.

The Heat, Knicks, and Lakers all have a good deal of cap room available, though New York will have to renounce Derrick Rose to make use of that room and Miami may dedicate a portion of its space to a new deal for James Johnson. It’s not clear how many years those teams will be willing to offer — the Lakers are known to be avoiding multiyear commitments, and it’s possible that Miami and New York will want to preserve cap flexibility for the summer of 2018 as well.

The Bulls and Kings were linked to Waiters earlier in the offseason, but Chicago is now in rebuilding mode and Sacramento made its big backcourt splash by agreeing to sign George Hill.

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