Dion Waiters to Heat: Latest Contract Details, Comments and Reaction

Dion Waiters has never lived up to his promise as a top-five pick, but he did become an integral bench cog in Oklahoma City over the last season-and-a-half. Unfortunately, that did not result in a big payday, as Waiters agreed to a one-year contract with the Miami Heat on Monday. 

Jon Krawczynski and Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press reported the news. The deal will pay Waiters $2.9 million on the so-called room exception. Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical added that Waiters holds a player option for the 2017-18 season.

Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel was surprised by the numbers:

Waiters became an unrestricted free agent when the Thunder opted to rescind the qualifying offer they extended to him.

Waiters, 24, spent last season with the Thunder after coming over in a trade midway through 2014-15. He averaged 9.8 points, 2.6 rebounds and 2.0 assists, playing 27.6 minutes per game—a high among Oklahoma City bench players. Enes Kanter and Waiters provided the bulk of the offense for an improved bench unit, though both are below-average defenders.

Criticized for large portions of the regular season, Waiters seemed to come into his own during the playoffs. He knocked down 37.5 percent of his threes, played much better defense and had a few strong performances in games where the Thunder needed a boost. However, the Syracuse product did disappear during the team's conference finals collapse—he had just eight points total in the final three games—and hurt his value on the market.

"It's hard to believe that an entire league could lose interest in Waiters over three games, no matter how important they were or no matter how ineffective Waiters was," Berry Tramel and Erik Horne of the Oklahoman wrote. "But those three games have to hurt Waiters' case to draw a decent NBA contract."

Even after the departure of Kevin Durant and with the possibility of Russell Westbrook being gone at some point via trade or free agency, OKC decided against bringing Waiters back.

The acquisition of Victor Oladipo from the Orlando Magic likely had plenty to do with that, although losing Waiters is a significant hit to the Thunder's backcourt depth. 

Waiters likely had better offers on the table—the likes of Garrett Temple got $8 million per season in this market—but has to be tantalized by the opportunity in Miami. The Heat are reeling after losing Dwyane Wade, to whom Waiters drew comparisons coming out of college. Those comparisons seem silly now—Waiters isn't even a poor man's Wade—but there is an intriguing tidiness to his being the future Hall of Famer's replacement.

Miami has also become a place for players to resurrect their spiraling careers. Hassan Whiteside, Chris Andersen and others have revitalized their NBA outlook under the South Beach sun. 

Waiters has yet to live up to his billing as a former No. 4 overall draft pick, but if the Heat give him increased opportunities, he has a chance to inch closer to his potential in 2016-17 and beyond.

Follow Tyler Conway (@jtylerconway) on Twitter.