Shooting guard Dion Waiters has agreed to a four-year, $52 million deal to return to the Miami Heat, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, terms reported by Michael Scotto of Basketball Insiders.
The explosive wing was in the radar of the New York Knicks and the Los Angeles Lakers as well, choosing to return home alongside point guard Goran Dragic and center Hassan Whiteside as the building blocks of the team.
Having lost out on free agent forward Gordon Hayward on Tuesday pretty much guaranteed a return for the Syracuse standout after choosing to opt out of the second year of his contract.
Waiters signed a two-year, $5.9 million deal with the Heat last offseason after a brilliant end to the 2015-16 season with the Oklahoma City Thunder, betting on himself to be able to land this very deal down the road.
After a feeble 11-30 start, the 25-year-old helped Miami turn it all around in historic fashion, finishing the season 30-11 and missing the playoffs only due to a tiebreaker — as the team finished right at the .500 mark.
Waiters put up 15.8 points, 4.3 assists, and 3.3 rebounds per game, while shooting 39.5 percent from deep. A nagging ankle sprain kept him out of the final 13 games of the season, proving too late as the Heat were eliminated from the playoffs in disheartening fashion.
Follow Us
Subscribe