ESPN’s Marc Stein reported that Dion Waiters and the Brooklyn Nets sat down together earlier this month to discuss a contract possibility. The 24-year-old shooting guard entered the free agent market as a restricted free agent after the Thunder rescinded his contract.
Waiters just finished up his second NBA season with Oklahoma City and his fourth season overall. Through those four years, Waiters has shown an ability to score but struggles mightily with efficiency. As OKC’s backup shooting guard, Waiters shot roughly 40 percent from the field and averaged 9.8 points per game — for his career, he’s at about 13 points per game on 41 percent shooting.
His sophomore campaign with the Cleveland Cavaliers back in 2013-14 was the strongest of his career as he averaged 15.9 points on 43 percent shooting, 37 from downtown. The Thunder grabbed him as part of the three-team deal that sent Iman Shumpert and J.R. Smith to the Cavs, and Waiters has struggled to produce in new scenery.
In the midst of Sean Marks‘ rebuild, the Nets have a ton of bodies in the backcourt, including newly-signed Jeremy Lin, draft picks in Isaiah Whitehead and Caris LeVert, and Sean Kilpatrick, who played exceptionally well in 23 games for the Nets last season.
The addition of Waiters, despite the inefficiency, would give the Nets someone who can produce points if given the opportunity. Plus, he’s young. And youth is always good for a rebuild.
