Waiters Thriving In New Role, Amongst Trade Talks

[Rizzo]

As the front office and coaching staff experiments with the lineups and rotations to try to find the best possible way to deploy its roster on a nightly basis, young Dion Waiters has found himself in a new position. After being the starting guard next to Kyrie Irving all season long, Waiters was asked to come off of the bench to lead the team’s second unit. Teams across the league regularly take a starter and move them to the bench to try to bully opposing teams’ benches.

How has it worked out for Waiters and Cleveland? The results are certainly a mixed bag.

Waiters, on a personal level, has excelled and surpassed all expectations in his bench role. We know it is a small sample size (five games), but Waiters’ scoring and shooting statistics have been fantastic! He’s shooting 61.76% from the floor on 14 shots per game. He’s getting to the free throw line almost five times a night and connecting on 70.83% of his attempts. And for a guy that’s not known for his long-range jumper, Waiters has hit 75% from deep on 2.4 attempts per game (9-12 to be exact). This brings his scoring output as the 6th man to 22.00 points per game, raising his scoring average to 15.7 on the season. It looks as if Dion has really embraced his role.

Whatever this team or Coach Brown want me to do, I’ll do man. Some dudes take it as a slap in the face but what’s there for me to be down about? I’m still getting my regular burn, I’m getting more shots up, scoring more and I still play crunch time. Yeah, it’s tough not hearing your name called when the fans are going nuts to start the game, but when I hit that big bucket in the 4th quarter they love me even more. It’s all good, man.

Waiters is experiencing success coming off of the bench, but what about the Cavaliers as a team? In the five games since the move, the Cavaliers are 1-4 with losses to New Orleans, Charlotte, Miami and Chicago and their lone win coming against San Antonio. The starting lineup is featuring two rookies in Drew Crawford and Damien Inglis, both of which have not played well in an expanded role. Tristan Thompson and Ekpe Udoh are manning the paint and have struggled as well. Is it a product of bad matchups, bad play or just a bad mix of players on the court together? As Rizzo scratches his head to find the right combination, the experiment will continue…for now.

As for Dion Waiters, his name has been thrown around in trade talks, some of which have been made public. A proud, confident player, Waiters hasn’t blinked an eye at the thought of being traded.

This a business, man. I’m getting paid to play the sport that I love. If I have to do that in Cleveland, Denver, China, the moon, don’t matter to me. Whichever team wants me to put they uniform on, I’m down to go to work.

Cleveland has been active in the trade market and is reluctant to part ways with Irving, Thompson and Waiters hoping to add a player worth of starting at small forward without losing one of their three young horses. All players besides them, as well as their five draft picks over the next two seasons, are available in a trade. As the Cavaliers pursue a trade before the deadline, they won’t make a deal just for the sake to make one. They have cap space a plenty for the offseason and will continue to talk trade leading up to and during the draft as well.

For now, Waiters will continue to torch teams off of Cleveland’s bench. If things don’t turn around in the win-loss column, his role will be reevaluated and he could be back to the starting lineup to right the ship.

[WillyJakkz]

Article was the kiss of death for Waiters... 3/14 then 6/14 shooting this sim

[Marcos_Beck]

Article was the kiss of death for Waiters... 3/14 then 6/14 shooting this sim

Lol I was about to write a rumor about Waiters being pissed off as he read that his name was on the block and he was rumored to have been offered to LAC for Klay Thompson, but when I thought about it, then your article came.

He's playing well. I'm really impressed with your team so far. Keep it up (but let me reach the PO's too)

[orangeparka]

Good two way guard. It'll be interesting to see where he goes, if he does at all.

Could see him being moved for a C...

[emplep7]

If you could move him for a good big man you will be in good shape. That's easier said than done though so you might have to add onto him as bigs are much harder to get then good SGs.

[Rizzo]

Grabbing a young big *cough* *cough* Monroe *cough* for Waiters would be great but I know I'm going to have to add on to that to make it happen.

[orangeparka]

Grabbing a young big *cough* *cough* Monroe *cough* for Waiters would be great but I know I'm going to have to add on to that to make it happen.

Ooh I like that. Unfortunately DET has KCP who's a beast here.

[Rizzo]

Grabbing a young big *cough* *cough* Monroe *cough* for Waiters would be great but I know I'm going to have to add on to that to make it happen.

Ooh I like that. Unfortunately DET has KCP who's a beast here.

To alleviate a log jam at the SG position in Detroit we can take KCP off his hands too.

[OneNole]

Grabbing a young big *cough* *cough* Monroe *cough* for Waiters would be great but I know I'm going to have to add on to that to make it happen.

If that's true that just shows how differently people value players

[emplep7]

Grabbing a young big *cough* *cough* Monroe *cough* for Waiters would be great but I know I'm going to have to add on to that to make it happen.

If that's true that just shows how differently people value players

This engine is pretty different from DDS2. Players who ratings are valuable there aren't as much here. Once the NLL switches to the DI/FCP cap, you'll see it start changing over there too.

[OneNole]

Grabbing a young big *cough* *cough* Monroe *cough* for Waiters would be great but I know I'm going to have to add on to that to make it happen.

If that's true that just shows how differently people value players

This engine is pretty different from DDS2. Players who ratings are valuable there aren't as much here. Once the NLL switches to the DI/FCP cap, you'll see it start changing over there too.

Maybe to a degree. But I highly doubt my opinion on defense and blocks will change.

[emplep7]

Grabbing a young big *cough* *cough* Monroe *cough* for Waiters would be great but I know I'm going to have to add on to that to make it happen.

If that's true that just shows how differently people value players

This engine is pretty different from DDS2. Players who ratings are valuable there aren't as much here. Once the NLL switches to the DI/FCP cap, you'll see it start changing over there too.

Maybe to a degree. But I highly doubt my opinion on defense and blocks will change.

I agree with the blocked shots point to an extent, but I'll take 0.6 PA/SF for my big man any day of the week. Plus rebounding with the new strat change is key if you want to win.

[Dennis]

Boston interested in Waiters too. But his VERY low IQ/DI hurts his value.. But he is doing a good job coming off the bench.. With that said he hopefully wont be that good tonight in Boston, lol.

[andrei]

Its popular these days to have a good scoring guard coming off the bench. I like Waiters also and need a decent backup sg.