The writing was on the wall when the Oklahoma City Thunder agreed to a three-year, $18 million deal with Alex Abrines.

Not only did that mean the Thunder was finally bringing over from Spain its second round pick back in 2013, but also that there probably wasn't any room left for Dion Waiters.

The team had extended a qualifying offer to the mercurial shooting guard, making him a restricted free agent this summer, but they've since rescinded that offer. That means Waiters is now an unrestricted free agent and can sign with another team, while the Thunder will no longer be able to match the offer.

Via The Vertical's Adrian Wojnarowski:

Without an offer sheet, Waiters could’ve cut into the Thunder’s salary cap space with the acceptance of a $6.7 million qualifying offer for the 2016-17 season, but the Thunder will no longer have Waiter’s $12.8 million cap hold count against the their cap once they renounce him and his Bird Rights – or he signs elsewhere.

Waiters' cap hold coming off the books gives the Thunder needed room to renegotiate a contract extension with Russell Westbrook. The hope for Thunder GM Sam Presti is to lock Westbrook up long-term before he becomes an unrestricted free agent next summer. We saw the Houston Rockets pull this off with James Harden this summer, although the situation is slightly different for Westbrook.

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Not only did Waiters need to be out of the way for this to happen, but he may also need to be out of the way for new additions Victor Oladipo and Abrines. Those two, along with Andre Roberson, Anthony Morrow, and Kyle Singler give the Thunder five options on the wing. Waiters simply isn't needed anymore, especially at his price.

Teams like the Philadelphia 76ers and Brooklyn Nets have shown interest in Waiters, or the Thunder could still re-sign him, they just needed him off the books first while they deal with Westbrook.

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