Former Syracuse Orange guard Dion Waiters is taking his talents to South Beach. Waiters has signed a one-year, $2.9 million deal with the Miami Heat, according to Associated Press reporters Tim Reynolds and Jon Krawczynski. He holds a player option for the 2017-18 season, per Yahoo! Sports. That makes the official deal a two-year gig for almost $6 million.
Waiters became a restricted free agent this off-season after playing with the Oklahoma City Thunder last year. The Thunder eventually rescinded his qualifying offer which made him an unrestricted free agent. He previously expressed interest in staying with the Thunder, but didn't sign their qualifying offer while he still had a chance.
Miami could be a good fit for Dion as they rebuild following Dwayne Wade's departure, but he'll need to show some improvement to stay around. His 9.8 points per game average last season was his lowest since entering the NBA, but he performed significantly better during the playoffs, especially on defense. He also improved his three-point shooting to a career-high 36-percent over the course of 2015-16.
Dion lost quite a bit of money by not resigning with the Thunder. He would have made $6.8 million if he signed, so he took a pay cut of just under $4 million. In fact, Dion's just-under-three-mil contract is pretty low for a 24-year-old who was once the No. 4 pick in the NBA Draft. If he's impressive this season, he'll likely get a bigger payout down the road. But it's certainly a tough pill to swallow given the record amount of money tossed around the NBA this offseason.
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Former Syracuse Orange Guard Dion Waiters Signs with Miami Heat
Former Syracuse player Dion Waiters has signed a one-year deal with Miami.