The Sixer Sense
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Does Silence on Dion Waiters Mean He Won’t be a Sixer?

By Josh Wilson

May 22, 2016; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Dion Waiters (3) reacts with fans during the second quarter against the Golden State Warriors in game three of the Western conference finals of the NBA Playoffs at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports
May 22, 2016; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Dion Waiters (3) reacts with fans during the second quarter against the Golden State Warriors in game three of the Western conference finals of the NBA Playoffs at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports /
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There have been no reports about any teams reaching out to Dion Waiters since he was announced to be an unrestricted free agent. Will Sixers not get him?

Dion Waiters, on Monday night, was announced to have had his qualifying offer from the Oklahoma City Thunder rescinded, which made him an unrestricted free agent. For some teams, including the Philadelphia 76ers, that meant that they might not be done with free agency like they originally seemed to be.

The Sixers signed several backcourt players in free agency already, but the story that comes along with Waiters is simply too hard to ignore. Waiters is a Philly kid who would love to come back and play in front of his friends and family.

A few days later after the original report from Adrian Wojnarowski, and no reports have come out about any teams meeting with Dion, or him drawing interest from any teams. Aside from an Instagram video put up by Dion on Tuesday night that had implications of a Philly-based return, there has been no tell-tale signs of where he’s going.

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Does that mean it’s not Philly? In my opinion, that would have to mean that it’s back to the Oklahoma City Thunder.

You see, the Thunder don’t necessarily want to get rid of Waiters. They rescinded his offer, largely possibly due to the fact that they just lost Kevin Durant and are currently at risk of losing Russell Westbrook next year if they don’t get him to agree to an extension. To do that, the team needed the capital locked up by Waiters’ qualifying offer. Once they finish that, they may very well bring him back if he’s available.

Waiters didn’t have to meet with teams to sign a deal right away, but he doesn’t have the luxury of players like LeBron James, where they can simply ignore any teams somewhat interested in them and still get a huge contract. Waiters should have been getting in contact with teams if he was looking for a deal right away.

But maybe something is in line with the Thunder. I would think, given that no reports have come out about Waiters jumping ship, that that is the case.

I don’t think Waiters is right in Philly anyway. He’s a Philly kid, but that doesn’t mean he fits on the basketball team. The team is already stock-piled with tons of players in the backcourt, and bringing on Waiters would force the team to have to trim down big-time, and would make a lot of the previous free agency signings not make much sense.

Next: How Much Money do Sixers Have to Spend?

Waiters is good, but is he worth throwing away weeks of free agency moves and preparing for training camp? I don’t think so.