Dion Waiters Comments on Joining Lakers, Relationship with LeBron James

Before joining the Los Angeles Lakers last week, Dion Waiters' season was nothing short of a nightmare. He was suspended three times by the Miami Heat, including for one incident where he took a THC-infused edible on a team plane and had a panic attack, and another where he called out sick but later posted a picture of himself on a boat.

When the Heat traded him to the Memphis Grizzlies in February, he was instantly waived despite being under contract through 2020-21.  

So suffice it to say when Waiters went into Los Angeles for a workout, there was more to discuss than basketball.

"At the end of the day, I'm grown," Waiters said, per Dave McMenamin of ESPN. "So, you learn from your mistakes. ... We don't got to keep drilling on the past, things like that. You live and you learn. And I did that. So, they understood that, and that was a short conversation (with the Lakers' brass)."

Waiters signed a one-year contract for the minimum, and he's expected to come in and provide a scoring punch off the bench for the Lakers. He played in just three games this season for Miami but has several built-in relationships in Los Angeles.

Lakers president of basketball operations Rob Pelinka is Waiters' former agent, and he was teammates with LeBron James for half of a season in Cleveland. Waiters is also a client of James' close friend and agent, Rich Paul. 

"I mean, it's always been a bond," Waiters said of his relationship with James. "Even when I left. We always see each other, we always showed love. So, nothing really changed. It's just different teams. We don't get to see each other as much, as often, but when we did it was always genuine. So, when I came here, like I said, they welcomed me with open arms."

Waiters will have to hope his second run as James' teammate goes better than the first. He averaged 10.5 points and 2.2 assists while shooting 25.6 percent from three in 33 games with the Cavs during the 2014-15 season, before being sent to Oklahoma City as part of a deal that brought Iman Shumpert and J.R. Smith to Cleveland.  

Waiters has had an up-and-down career since, failing to make much of a difference in Oklahoma City before seemingly finding a home in Miami and wearing out his welcome there as well. The Lakers are banking on Waiters' lost season proving to be something of a wake-up call, and he'll be the off-the-dribble shot creator and occasional spot-up shooter they need for a deep run into the postseason.