Thunder rescind Dion Waiters’ qualifying offer

Dion Waiters is many things: irrationally confident, a paragon of inefficiency, an occasional misser of layups, and a proud Syracuse alum.

The Oklahoma City Thunder lifted the restricted free-agent tag off Waiters on Monday, meaning he can sign with any team without the Thunder holding the right to match any offer he receives.

The overdrawn topic of whether the Philadelphia 76ers are interested in signing Philly native Dion Waiters has been dragging out with the same rhetorics of “does he deserve a max contract” or “why not take a shot on him”.

The Nets appear unwilling to change their stance on signing him since Waiters became unrestricted.

Protecting itself against the potential loss of Waiters, OKC signed 2013 draft pick Alex Abrines, a guard from Spain who is a top Euroleague player, and acquired guard Victor Oladipo from the Magic via trade.

Waiters used the hashtag #TRUSTTHEPROCESS on his Instagram account Tuesday night while working out with his personal trainer. Even if Waiters’ stock doesn’t rise demonstrably following his fifth year in the league, his earning power could still be higher with teams able to spend more money.

The Brooklyn Nets are now in need of a guard who can work together with Jeremy Lin.

Waiters has been a member of the Thunder for about a season and a half. But he can also be a starter, especially for rebuilding teams like the Sixers and Nets. According to Blazers Edge, this means Harkless is still available to entertain offers from other teams. In a free-agency market where Timofey Mozgov can command $16 million per year, Waiters’s inability to find a suitor is especially confounding.