Syracuse alum and all-around IDGAF shooting guard Dion Waiters was asked on Twitter today if he was comfortable accepting a role coming off the bench. With the influx of Andrew Wiggins and LeBron James this summer, plus a max extension for Kyrie Irving, there might not be enough room for him in the starting five. Waiters reaction when someone asked him about this on Twitter was an overt and prolonged: “Noooooooo.”
Waiters’ tweet has since been deleted, smart, if it hadn’t already been picked up by a few outlets already. Here’s the tweet and a screenshot:
Nooooooooo RT @CavsForever_: Would you accept the role of coming off the bench or..? @dionwaiters3
— Dion Waiters (@dionwaiters3) July 15, 2014
With Anthony Bennett, Tristan Thompson, Anderson Varejao and James filling the frontcourt spots, and Andrew Wiggins sliding over to shooting guard, as mentioned by Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal and others — including the Cavs themselves, Waiters’ time in the starting lineup appears to be at an end.
We know he’s been dangled in a lot of deals for Kevin Love and others, but Waiters is the type of player who believes he’s just as good as Wiggins, and probably thinks he’s the equal of Kyrie and LeBron, too.
He’s wrong, of course, but he’s still a quality player on a rookie deal, so trading him shouldn’t be a problem if his animosity towards a role on the bench is as strong as the since-deleted tweet suggests. Or, the Cavs — after not finding any suitors — could bring Wiggins off the bench; we doubt that’s the smart decision, or the one they’ll ultimately decide to do.
Dion’s self-confidence can win a game for you at the end, and he’s quick and strong enough to explode towards the rim even when there’s defensive pressure…
But Waiters is a strong personality who had been rumored to be at odds with Irving last season, so much so they had to call a joint press conference to squash the speculating.
Now we’re speculating about whether he’s mature enough to come off the bench.
Will Dion Waiters play for the Cavs next year?
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