Last night the Oklahoma City Thunder were eliminated out of one of the best series in the NBA Playoffs in a while. The Golden State Warriors came back from being down 3-1 to reclaim the series and push themselves to the NBA Finals. Now the shell-shocked Thunder team has to look forward to one of their biggest offseason’s in franchise history.
With the free agency of Kevin Durant, comes the looming uncertainty about their future, and his decision will be one that will be intensely covered throughout the summer frenzy. Despite this, Durant isn’t the only free agent set to hit the market this summer. Dion Waiters is another player that has played a vital role in the recent play of the Thunder, and the restricted free agent says he would want nothing but to come back to Oklahoma. According to Anthony Slater of NewsOK Blogs:
Here’s Dion Waiters saying he wants to return to the Thunder pic.twitter.com/dpWkcbOZQH
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) May 31, 2016
“Of course,” Waiters said. “Why not? Since I got here I feel as though they have helped me become a better person off the court. It’s not even about basketball. I’ve never been connected with a group of guys like this that I’m actually close to. Why not? The best fans in the world. I’m definitely looking forward to coming back.”
Despite struggling to find his footing when first joining the Thunder, Waiters has proved to be a catalyst for them off the bench. In this years playoffs, he especially became an important part of their bench offense, averaging 11 points and making a couple 3-point shots a game.
Waiters is a restricted free agent, which means that unless a team is willing to go out and sign him to an offer sheet and set the bar higher then expected for the Thunder, he’s most likely going to return to Oklahoma. Waiters has grown an affinity for Oklahoma, that comes with his relationship with Durant. Could Durant’s decision affect Waiters willingness to stay? We’ll see how it plays out soon.
