NBA free agent Dion Waiters has agreed to sign with the Los Angeles Lakers for the remainder of the 2019-2020 NBA season, per The Athletic’s Shams Charania.
Los Angeles Lakers Sign Dion Waiters
Rough Start to the Year
Waiters has been the talk of the media this season, but for all the wrong reasons. He started off the season with the Miami Heat on suspension for violating team policies. This included various social media posts degrading teammates, among other things. He then was suspended again for taking an edible on the team plane. Eventually, he made his first appearance with the Heat on January 24th, scoring his season-high 14 points.
Free agent Dion Waiters has agreed on a deal with the Los Angeles Lakers for the remainder of the season, sources tell @TheAthleticNBA @Stadium.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) March 5, 2020
At the trade deadline, Waiters was traded to the Memphis Grizzlies. This deal included his teammates Justise Winslow and James Johnson. The Grizzlies reached a buy-out agreement with Waiters, and he hit the free-agent market. After a workout and meeting with the Lakers, he agreed to sign with them for the remainder of the season. He and his agent Rich Paul have been made clear that the Lakers reserve the right to release them if this doesn’t go well.
What He Brings
Although Waiters has had some rough patches in his career, especially this year, he isn’t a bad player. Waiters is a proven scorer in the league and he provides a strong bench presence that the Lakers desperately need. Waiters can be a source of instant offense when things aren’t going well for the Lakers’ two stars, Anthony Davis and LeBron James. He averages 13.2 points per game for his career.
Waiters can fill the hole in the Lakers’ bench unit, providing fresh legs for the playoffs. He can prove to be useful during this time in the season, as there are many NBA Finals contenders in the Western Conference. The Lakers have been in desperate need of another guard that can handle a ball-handling and scoring load on the second unit. Time will tell, but for now, it seems that Waiters has found a good fit with the Lakers.
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