Why Reduced Role Will Allow Dion Waiters to Thrive in 2014-15
Dion Waiters was the Cleveland Cavaliers' second-leading scorer in each of his first two seasons, an ambitious sidekick who attempted 14.2 field-goal attempts per game a season ago.
He's about to become something entirely different—more than an afterthought but less than a star. A very good role player if all goes according to plan.
There's well-founded optimism about what Waiters can accomplish alongside a four-time MVP, a floor-spacing Kevin Love and—of course—Kyrie Irving. But that optimism hinges on the 22-year-old's willingness to play a complementary role wherein touches and shots will be fewer and further between.
As Sports on Earth's Michael Pina put it this month:
"Most of this gushing is based on a belief that Waiters will happily sacrifice numbers and touches and accept his obviously 'reduced' stature. Nobody knows if he will, or if he'll prove too immature for this new, more difficult responsibility. Every other time he tweets, speaks, or generally enters the public domain, Waiters' brashness comes off as crazy delusional.
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Waiters played 29.6 minutes per contest last season, and his 25.7 usage rate ranked 13th among shooting guards, per Hollinger Stats.
There's a case to be made that the Syracuse product is good enough to play a Wade-like role for LeBron James. But that's not going to happen in a pecking order where James, Love and Irving all figure to generate more offense.
Don't forget about Tristan Thompson or a second unit with options like Mike Miller and Shawn Marion.
Now Waiters is just one piece of a star-studded and deceptively deep roster, and he'll learn to share the suddenly bright spotlight with the new-look Cavaliers. So far, the third-year guard hasn't noticed a decipherable difference in his on-court performance.
"Not really," Waiters told reporters this month, per Chris Haynes of the Northeast Ohio Media Group. "I've been able to play my game. I've been able to attack when I want to, shoot when I want to shoot. So, nothing has really changed. We've been jelling well because everybody knows their roles. As long as we take care of what we need to take care of we'll be fine."
Waiters' role as a scorer won't change dramatically. But even he admitted there would be something of a learning curve with LBJ around.
"I have to make adjustments," Waiters told media in July, according to Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com. "I like to have the ball, and we have Kyrie, and he likes to have the ball. So I have to find ways to impact the game without having the ball. I'm planning to go watch tape to see what D-Wade did when he played with LeBron. I need to learn how to be effective out there with him."
He expressed his intent to replicate Wade's improved efficiency and admitted that he'll become a more polished player with James around.
"I think it's good for me at the end of the day," Waiters added, "because I can prove to people I can do other things than just score. I need to go play the right way, listen to LeBron and be a sponge and try to soak up what he's going to tell me."
In Waiters' mind, he's not necessarily accepting a smaller role so much as a different one.
His net production may not change dramatically, but he'll have to be more selective and judicious with his shot selection. That may come naturally enough with a supreme playmaker like James around. Even if Waiters has fewer touches, he'll probably have more quality touches—clean looks and transition buckets facilitated by LeBron in one way or another.
That's the benefit of playing with greatness. It's easier to do more with less—fewer touches, fewer shots and ultimately less responsibility.
And with Waiters' career still in its formative stages, James' wisdom couldn't come at a better time.
"I hate losing, and a guy like [James], who's probably the best player in the world right now, is someone I can learn from," Waiters told Philly.com's Mike Sielski. "I can grow. I still haven't reached my peak. Now with a guy like that, he can open up the floor for you and give you a lot of opportunities."
It's a paradoxical situation for Waiters.
He may very well become a much-improved player over the next season or two, but his production may suggest otherwise on face. Waiters can become a better scorer even if he becomes a slightly less prolific one. His contributions as a defender and facilitator should mature in time as well.
So we should expect strides. Even if they're overshadowed by everything else going on in Cleveland.
There remain some risks that the Waiters experiment could go awry. His personality isn't deferential by nature, and it's possible he grows weary of his diminished profile.
"I'm an alpha dog, man," he told Sielski. "No one should take that the wrong way. The way I am, it got me this far, so why stop having it now? I would never, ever, ever stop having confidence. That's the toughness I've got—Philly toughness."
Maybe that's a good thing, so long as it isn't confused with pride. A new-found winning culture may ease any perceived demotion, but Waiters will invariably have to reconcile his individual aspirations with what's best for the franchise.
Finding that balance may not be especially complicated.
"The only way to rewrite the notion of, 'Can Dion fit in this?' is to play the right way and dominate his opposition every single night," James told Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal in September. "That's all he should worry about."
And while he'll be picking and choosing his spots more carefully, Waiters may indeed be motivated enough to dominate that opposition.
"I love them bright lights," he Chris Fedor of the Northeast Ohio Media Group in September. "I don't shy away from those moments. I embrace those. I'm ready. I worked hard this off-season. I cant wait to get going."
The Cavaliers can't ask for more than that.
Integrating Waiters into Cleveland's loaded offense will be a collective challenge—one spearheaded by new head coach David Blatt and his motion-based schemes. This is as much a challenge for James, Love and Irving as it is for Waiters. They need him invested on both ends of the floor, so it's important that he feel included and valued.
Measuring Waiters' success this season will involve more than points alone. It's equally a question of defensive effort, good decisions and all of the little things that go into contending for a championship.
If Waiters is really ready for those bright lights, he'll take the less glamorous tasks just as seriously.
Even in a more part-time role, the Cavaliers need a full-time commitment.
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