After failing to reach an agreement with the Oklahoma City Thunder management, reserve guard Dion Waiters may soon realize his dreams of playing for his hometown team, according to an insider.
According to a report by Philly.com, the 23-year-old NBA player revealed to an unidentified source that he longs to be a part of the 76ers organization.
"He wants to come home," said the source. "Plus, he knows that he could be the missing shooting guard they need. And he could possibly get a very lucrative contract with the Sixers."
According to Latino Post, rumors of Waiters moving to Philadelphia next season started when the player and the Thunder management failed to agree to a contract extension, which will render Waiters as a restricted free agent next year. Thunder's major superstar Kevin Durant will also become a restricted free agent next year, and Thunder will logically prioritize Durant over Waiters.
Waiters, who hails from South Philadelphia, has shown flashes of brilliance as a scoring threat for the Thunder but has yet to become a reliable player who can produce consistent performance on a regular basis. The Latino Post article describes Waiters as a ball hog who has poor shot selection skills and lackluster defense. The 2012 fourth overall draft pick still has a lot of things to prove and he needs to do it quickly if he wants to stay with the Thunder.
In a report by CBS Sports, however, Waiters denied speculations of his intent to move to Philadelphia if his career with the Thunder ends next offseason. The 6-foot-4 shooting guard shot down rumors of relocating to Philadelphia via Twitter:
"I'm not worrying about money, I'm chasing a championship wit my brothers," Dion posted on his Twitter account.
Waiter's NBA career average is 13.8 points, 2.6 rebounds and 2.6 assists. He first played for the Cleveland Cavaliers for two and a half seasons until he was sent last season to the Thunder.