Dion Waiters on Kyrie Irving playing with Miami Heat: ‘It would help’
By Wes Goldberg
Miami Heat guard Dion Waiters would welcome playing with his former teammate Kyrie Irving, but wants him to know that he’s an alpha male, too.
Dion Waiters doesn’t lack confidence, and that always shows. It was especially obvious during a party he threw in his hometown of Philadelphia, that included Miami Heat teammates. Fresh off signing a four-year, $52 million contract to stay in South Beach, there is a lot to be confident about.
Waiters, 25, is coming off a breakout season in which he averaged 15.8 points and 4.3 assists, and made multiple game-winning shots to help the Heat turn their season around. His confidence was legendary even before this past season, but now he has the money and position to back it up.
That has led some to wonder how he’d mesh with Kyrie Irving if the Heat were to pair them together. Irving has asked for a trade from the Cleveland Cavaliers, and has included Miami on his list of preferred destinations. Waiters and Irving, of course, were teammates in Cleveland during Waiters’ first two seasons.
Waiters said he’d welcome Irving, but emphasized he wouldn’t take a back seat. Per the Miami Herald:
"“It would help – I’m not against that,” Waiters told HipHopSince1987 of a possible move by the Heat to acquire Irving, a four-time All-Star whom he played with for two and a half seasons in Cleveland.“Just know there’s an alpha male over there too in myself.”"
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Irving reportedly wants to leave Cleveland to get out of LeBron James’ shadow, and to become the leader of his own NBA team. Waiters’ comment that he’s an “alpha male” is in direct response to that. Clearly, Waiters views himself as someone ready to take the reigns of an offense.
Miami isn’t considered a favorite to land Irving because they don’t have the most enticing package of assets to offer. The best they could do is something centered around Goran Dragic and Justise Winslow, while other teams have more young players and draft picks they could include in a deal.
If the Heat were to somehow land Irving, though, there would undoubtedly be a power struggle in the backcourt. Irving, after all, wants to call the shots on a new team, and Waiters isn’t about to relinquish his new-found position.
Next: How a Kyrie Irving trade would impact Dion Waiters
Even if Miami’s offense isn’t built around him, you know he’s getting the ball in the last two minutes of a close game. Adding Irving would challenge that. These are the sort of things NBA front offices have to weight when considering major roster moves.