Dion Waiters wants to start for the Cavaliers next season, and he made that clear in a recent tweet:
http://twitter.com/#!/dionwaiters3/status/488967142470348800
Case closed?
Not exactly.
The Cleveland guard expanded on his one-word (albeit elongated) response to a question on Twitter.
Waiters, via Chris Haynes of CSN Northwest:
“I want to start and I believe that I should at the two,” Waiters told CSNNW.com.
“I just say how I feel,” he said. “I’m going to do whatever is best for the team, of course, but at the end of the day, I’m a man and I’m confident in myself. I’ve always been a guy that gives it right to you. I’ve never been a guy that plays that political stuff. I was brought up that way. I’m straightforward. I give my honest opinion. I’m not going to sit here and hide. They asked a question and I tell you.”
This is why I encourage people to speak more openly with the media.
I did not read Waiters’ tweet this way at all. With limited contextual clues, I took it as him politicking for the starting role via social media.
Instead, he was doing the opposite – expressing his honest thoughts.
I wish more players would do that. I really respect where Waiters is coming from.
I don’t believe Waiters is good enough to start long-term, and the Cavaliers should start LeBron James and Andrew Wiggins on the wings as presently constructed – though a Kevin Love trade could change the roster makeup.
But this test – explaining what he really meant – Waiters aced. The next challenge will be handling coming of the bench if that’s what David Blatt asks of him.
Waiters might not accept resigning himself to a reserve role personally, but he still might handle it well enough outwardly. Before we blast Waiters for being selfish, let’s give him a chance to handle the situation – if it comes up.
Maybe he’ll come back next season improved and deserving of a starting spot, though I’m not counting on that.
