NBA: Retired Big Man Believes Disgruntled Guard Can Star In Hollywood

KEY POINTS

Perkins thinks Waiters can help the Lakers this season
Waiters' contract may not be appealing to the Lakers
Perkins and Waiters were briefly former teammates with the OKC Thunder

Dion Waiters of the Miami Heat will be reinstated soon although his playing time is another matter. Most believe that the disgruntled guard will eventually be traded. For retired NBA big man Kendrick Perkins, the 28-year-old is someone the Los Angeles Lakers should consider.

As mentioned in a previous report, the plight of Waiters could be part of a ploy to deal him off this NBA season. The 28-year-old guard is coming off a six-game suspension, his third sanction so far this season. Set to become an unrestricted free agent, it will be interesting if playoff-bound teams will take a chance on the fourth overall pick of the 2012 NBA Draft.

Perkins, who suited up for the Thunder from 2011-2015, posted on social media his thoughts on where Waiters best fits in. In that tweet, he reasoned that all the former Syracuse standout needs to do is score - something he believes he is good at.

Before ending up with the Heat, Waiters played for the Oklahoma City Thunder during the 2015-16 season. Both were teammates briefly for OKC. Waiters joined OKC on Jan. 5, 2015 while Perkins got traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Feb. 24, 2015.

It would be best to note here that the Lakers seem to have all bases covered. Though they are on a losing skid, the purple and gold are in no hurry to add new pieces to its fold. Further, Waiters $24.7 million deal stands in the way. It does not seem likely that the Lakers will want to absorb that deal, especially from someone who has not played a single game so far this NBA season. However, anything can happen especially if Frank Vogel feels that Waiters can help their cause.

For now, all Waiters can do is see what lies ahead. With Jimmy Butler, Tyler Herro and Kendrick Nunn doing well, the Heat are running third in the NBA Eastern Conference with a 22-8 win-loss record. There are rumors that Jrue Holiday of the New Orleans Pelicans is a person of interest for Miami. Curiously, Holiday holds about the same contract that Waiters does.