The Miami Heat have agreed to re-sign unrestricted free agent shooting guard Dion Waiters to a contract worth $52 million over four years. The contract cannot officially be signed until the end of the NBA’s moratorium period on July 6th.
Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN broke the news Wednesday evening:
Free agent guard Dion Waiters is finalizing a deal with the Miami Heat, league sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 5, 2017
Dion Waiters Agrees to Four-Year Contract With Miami Heat
Waiters’ new deal will take him through the end of the 2020-21 season.
Waiters averaged 15.8 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 4.3 assists per game last season for the Miami Heat. Despite playing in only 46 games due to numerous injuries, Waiters had a career year, with his best rebounding and assist averages. He also shot a career-best 39.5 percent from downtown. Waiters shined in a stretch of January and early February games, when the Heat won 11 straight with him in the lineup (and 13 straight overall). He averaged 20.6 points on 49.4 percent from the field during those games, shooting a scorching 50 percent from beyond the arc. Waiters had back-to-back 33-point games, notably hitting a game-winning three-pointer against the soon-to-be NBA champion Golden State Warriors.
Looking forward, Waiters will provide a scoring boost for Miami, whether he starts or comes off the bench. The Heat will need Waiters to be more consistent and stay healthy in order to compete for a playoff spot in the 2017-18 season.
Waiters is going into his sixth season in the league, during which he’ll be 25 years old. He signed with the Heat last summer after playing the previous season and a half with the Oklahoma City Thunder. Waiters spent his first two a half seasons with the Cleveland Cavaliers, who drafted him fourth overall in 2012.
Check out the LWOS 2017 NBA Free Agency Tracker for all of your NBA free agency coverage, and be sure to follow @LastWordHoops on Twitter to stay up-to-date with the latest NBA news.
Main Photo:
Dion Waiters attacking the basket during a Miami Heat game versus the Washington Wizards in 2016. (Keith Allison, Wikimedia Commons)
