Dion Waiters’ Last Stand?

By signing with his third team in five years, is this Dion Waiters’ last chance to stick with an NBA team before falling out of the league for good?

In one of the more surprising moves of the summer, shooting guard and former fourth overall pick Dion Waiters signed with the Miami Heat.

Most recently a member of the Oklahoma City Thunder and with the Cleveland Cavaliers before that, Waiters is nothing short of an enigma in the NBA.

A divisive figure whose ability to take an ill-advised jump shot is matched only by the more successful, but equally puzzling, J.R. Smith.

By signing a two-year, $6 million deal with the Heat, the second of which is a player option, the Heat bought low with the hopes that Waiters can become the player Cleveland thought he could be when they drafted him.

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The fact that he is coming in to directly replace Dwyane Wade is absolutely perfect as well. What would have made this all the better would have been if Waiters opted to continue to wear the No. 3, Wade’s former number and a jersey that will surely be retired in Miami before long.

Of course Waiters and all of his defensive inefficiencies and offensive audacities would be coming on board at a time when the franchise has just suffered the loss of their greatest player ever. It suits the social media perception of Waiters the clown brilliantly.

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On a more serious note though, if Waiters

can’t make it work

here, will he be finished in the league? Is he seriously in the Last Chance Saloon? Waiters and the Heat can spin it any way they want and claim the player took less money to join their first-class organization.

But I can think of at least one reason why he’d be a bad fit on every other roster in the league. Both parties needed each other and we’re sure to be treated to some memorable moments this coming season as a result.

Miami needed a cheap short-term solution for a position they’ve had locked down since 2003. With Chris Bosh (health issues permitting), Goran Dragic and Hassan Whiteside on this roster, they are still a playoff team and so do not have to think about a rebuild.

In Waiters, they have a player who has been a part of some terrible Cavaliers teams, while also being a part of the Thunder’s run to the conference finals last season. He’s clearly best suited off the bench, but he’s not as bad as some people would have you believe.

Yes he’s easy to make fun of, and he even has a Twitter page dedicated to his ridiculousness on the court as well. But the truth is, and most won’t care to admit it, he became a relevant player for the Thunder during their postseason run.

This is why he may be about to have a renaissance as a player and come out of his stint with the Heat a player in demand once again, no longer ridiculed for the way he plays the game.

Waiters is a career 33.5 percent three-point shooter. During the playoffs last season, that number jumped to 37.5 percent. This was despite the fact he didn’t start any of their 18 postseason games and so did not share the court with both Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook at all times.

His turnovers were down slightly (from 1.5 during the regular season to 1.1) while his effective field goal percentage went from 46 percent to 49 percent. Subtle improvements? Of course, but with the money the Heat are paying him that’s all he needs to make.

As long as he can continue to make small improvements and cut down on the knuckle head plays, he will do just fine as a serviceable starter for his new team. That’s not even the most exciting part however.

What we saw during Waiters’s lone playoff run of his still young career was a trait that we never thought we’d see, and it’s something that may keep him in the league longer as a result. A new commitment to defending.

The numbers minus-2.7, minus-1.8, minus-1.5, minus-0.6 represent the defensive box score plus/minus numbers Waiters has posted every year since being drafted.

As you can see the number has improved year on year, although he was still well below average on that end of the court.

During this year’s playoffs though? He posted a plus/minus of plus-0.6 on that end of the court, finally showing a basic understanding of how to defend within the framework of a cohesive unit.

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Against the San Antonio Spurs in particular, he made memorable plays on that end of the court, while also showing off a more intelligent offensive output. For the first time in his career, his value over a replacement player of similar ability was not in the red (plus-0.2).

That is the kind of player the Miami Heat hope they are getting. The kind of guy who, now entering his fifth year as a pro, has finally learned how to contribute in the NBA.

The kind of player who averages just more than eight points a game during the season, but can go out and put up 17 points, three rebounds and three assists against the San Antonio Spurs in the conference semifinals. Just like Waiters did last season.

He may be running out of time in the league, but there’s reason to believe that Dion Waiters could be a positive influence on the Miami Heat next season. He’ll have to be, or else this will likely be the last stop before moving elsewhere to play the game.

By showing improvements during a postseason run for a contender and defending better than at any point in his career before however, Waiters could be one of the sleeper success stories of the season. He’ll do it by playing basketball in a way he never really has before.

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Correctly, and in a way that will not spawn vines pointing out the many flaws in his game. Dion Waiters may be about to become a lot more boring and dependable, and it may just save his career.