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NBA Rumors: Thunder’s Dion Waiters Attracting Interest from 76ers

By Bret Stuter

May 30, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Dion Waiters (3) passes the basketball against Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson (11) and center Festus Ezeli (31) during the second quarter in game seven of the Western conference finals of the NBA Playoffs at Oracle Arena. The Warriors defeated the Thunder 96-88. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
May 30, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Dion Waiters (3) passes the basketball against Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson (11) and center Festus Ezeli (31) during the second quarter in game seven of the Western conference finals of the NBA Playoffs at Oracle Arena. The Warriors defeated the Thunder 96-88. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports /
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As the NBA free agency season nears, the Philadelphia 76er begin to reach out to NBA players, the latest in NBA Rumors is Oklahoma City Thunder’s Dion Waiters

Its the Christmas wishbook season for fans, its the harsh reality of for the front office.  Right now, while fans of every team wonders why the team is not actively engaging the agent  of Kevin Durant in serious contract talks, the answer is painfully harsh and abrupt.

It isn’t worth their time.

There is a hierarchy, a pecking order, in the NBA.  Actually, it’s there for every professional sports team.  But the salary cap was supposed to change all that.  Good players cannot coagulate in the NBA for on a single team’s roster, as that team will be forced into the penalty of paying a luxury tax.

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But it happens anyways.  The collective bargaining agreement of the NBA has more exceptions to the rule than a cheap lawyer’s prenuptial agreement.  The Rose exception, the Bird exception…. if you want to brush up on the free agency rules, you are in luck.  Just check out this piece: The Ultimate Philadelphia 76ers Guide to NBA Free Agency.

So teams who are not on the top tier free agents list must do a little more research, work a little harder, and take a little more risk.  That seems to be the case for the latest free agent to surface on the Philadelphia 76ers radar via NBA Rumors.

The Oklahoma City Thunder shooting guard has finished four seasons in the NBA, and in those four years has started just 110 of a possible 328 games.  The reason?  He peaked early.  By his second season, he had a 15.9 points per game average on 29.6 minutes per game, 2.8 rebounds per game, and 3.0 assists per game.  But after four years, his production has fallen dramatically to 9.8 PPG, 2.6 RPG, and 2.0 APG on 27.6 MPG.

This is not the first time the player was linked to the Philadelphia 76ers.  A similar rumor surfaced a year ago, and was handled beautifully over at the Liberty Ballers by Sean O’Conner:

"Dion Waiters grew up playing basketball in Philadelphia for the same league which brought you Mon’e Davis and the Taney Little League Baseball team which brief took over the sporting world two summers ago. He has also been known to throw a party or two around the Philadelphia area during the summer. And he’s been known to come up in rumors that he will someday play in Philadelphia.The Dion Waiters-to-Philadelphia rumors have existed almost from the starting point of his initial unhappiness with his role in Cleveland. Remember when he thought he was better than Kyrie Irving and got into an altercation with him in the locker room? The rumors are annoying yet hilarious, since Waiters is exactly the type of player die-hard fans loathe: ineffective with a bigger head than the trouble he’s worth. But they’re funny since they’re so obviously sourced from one side and could never be a reasonable fit with what the Sixers are doing. – Sean Conners at Liberty Ballers.com"

I am all for considering the deal to bring an NBA player home to Philly.  I am all for signing anyone who could make the Philadelphia 76ers a better team.

I seldom walk away from any prospective deals at the onset, but I’m struggling not to do so on this one.  Waiter’s is a play purely to age the roster, not improve it.  To my eyes, scanning the stats sheet gives me more encouragement to retain Hollis Thompson than sign Waiters.  Thompson knows the team, is steadily improving, shoots a better three, pulls down more rebounds, and we know what we get at an inexpensive price.

Next: Philadelphia 76ers' Robert Covington Break Out Season

Yes, there is always the “grass is always greener” bias when dealing with a player from another team.  But in this case, I hope we pass on by.

It’s not worth our time.