Dion Waiters is coming off the best season of his career, and will sign a four year deal to stay with the Miami Heat.
After missing out on Gordon Hayward, the Miami Heat were expected to quickly turn to Plan B: re-sign Dion Waiters and James Johnson. They didn’t waste much time, as the team and Waiters are working on a deal less than a day after Hayward’s announcement, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Free agent guard Dion Waiters is finalizing a deal with the Miami Heat, league sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 5, 2017
Waiters had a breakout season after signing a one-year deal with Miami. He averaged 15.8 points and 4.3 assists in 46 games, and was a key part of the Heat’s second-half turnaround.
Wojnarowski reports the deal being discussed is for four years. According to Michael Scotto of Basketball Insiders, it could be worth $52 million over four seasons. That would keep Waiters in Miami through his prime at an average of $13 million per season.
Sources: Miami Heat and Dion Waiters are discussing a 4-year, $52 million deal.
— Michael Scotto (@MikeAScotto) July 5, 2017
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Waiters had been open to wanting to re-sign with the Heat, and had been working out at AmericanAirlines Arena sporting Heat gear, according to his Snapchat.
It was unclear if the Heat would have been able to re-sign him had they landed Hayward but, with Hayward going to Boston, Miami has plenty of cap room to offer both him and James Johnson, another prioritized free agent. At the time of this publishing, Johnson has not re-signed but will reportedly speak with the Heat soon.
Re-signing Waiters keeps Miami’s backcourt intact. Along with Goran Dragic, the two motorized the Heat’s drive-and-kick offense that fueled its 13-game win streak in the second half of the season.
Waiters, 25, will sign the most lucrative contract of his career. Miami proved to be a great spot for him in one season and, hopefully, he’ll continue to grow as a part of the organization.