The Los Angeles Lakers are reportedly shifting their attention to veteran shooting guard Dion Waiters, after learning that retired point guard Darren Collison has decided against making a comeback. According to ESPN, the Lakers “are expected to have an exploratory conversation” with Waiters in the near future.
Waiters, 28, was recently traded from the Miami Heat to the Memphis Grizzlies as part of the Andre Iguodala trade, but was waived immediately thereafter. As noted by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Waiters was formerly represented by Lakers President and GM Rob Pelinka, and he is currently signed with Rich Paul of Klutch Sports, which reps for LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
The Heat signed Waiters to a four-year, $52 million extension in July of 2017, but he has appeared in a total of 74 games since then. He was suspended multiple times this season for a variety of reasons, including an incident where he ate too many edibles, complaining about playing time and another for “failure to adhere to team policies, violation of team rules and continued insubordination.”
For his career, Waiters boasts career averages of 13.2 points, 2.8 assists and 2.7 rebounds per night. The Lakers are still sitting atop the Western Conference with a record of 39-12.
