After winning a title earlier this year as a member of the Lakers, Dion Waiters has yet to find a new home for the 2020/21 season, either in the NBA or in another league. During a recent Instagram Live session (video link), Waiters admitted that he considered the possibility of retiring (hat tip to Complex.com).
“They think I’m playing. I’ve been contemplating it though—about retiring,” Waiters said. “It’s the politics for me. Game-wise, we know what’s up. I just can’t do the politics, man. We ain’t going over that water. I’ll retire before that.”
Waiters is coming off an up-and-down year in which he was suspended multiple times by the Heat for off-court behavior and experienced a medical episode on a team flight after he consumed a “gummy,” an edible form of marijuana. Waiters was sent away from the Heat and then was traded at the 2020 deadline to the Grizzlies, who quickly waived him.
Although he caught on with the Lakers for the end of the season, Waiters didn’t play much for the eventful champions, appearing in seven regular season games and just five playoff contests. As a result of his health problems and off-court issues, the former No. 4 overall pick hasn’t played more than 46 games in a season since 2015/16, when he was a member of the Thunder.
Waiters just turned 29 years old earlier this month, so it would be a surprise if he decided to call it a career already. His comments on Instagram Live suggest that retirement is just one option he has considered — I’d expect him to remain on the lookout for new opportunities.
Sure Dion, it’s the politics.
I was gonna say the same, dude is a fool. The slim talent that he possesses doesn’t warrant the James harden mentality
Or the LeBron James mentality, Kobe Bryant mentality, etc.
It’s different when you lead your team to a championship.
Harden doesn’t have rings to back up that mentality.
I’m sure by “politics” he doesn’t flat out mean, “I should be running a team.” He could be talking about a wide range things on the job when discussing “politics.” It’s a fair thing to be fed up with.
I’m trying to figure out “the politics”.
Was it that he was drafted 4th behind Anthony Davis, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and Bradley Beal?
Was it that he was drafted 4th by Cleveland to be their star player to get them past LeBron’s first departure, which resulted in them giving him every opportunity to be ‘the guy’ until he blew that?
Was it that he never lived up to the talent he had?
Was it with the Heat, when Pat Riley and Co. in the “Heat Culture” pushed him to play some of the best basketball in his career, then rewarded him with a big contract despite an injury, which was then followed up with getting out of shape, stopping his work efforts, his horrible performances and becoming one of the few people I’ve ever heard of to overdose on pot gummies?
Was it after getting a gift opportunity of a lifetime by being picked up by an elite team to ride coattails on a championship run that ended in them winning?
Which one of these “politics” is he referring too, since he’s clearly been affected by them?
IFK what @reflect means; ‘politics’ could mean different things; for some who are socially or mentally challenged it could basically mean popular with others. Let’s not drag cannabis into it. The incident on the plane was probably mostly about getting bullied, which he probably has had a lot of.
Some of his consistency flaws can be hidden by putting him at PG.
He could show up Irving but he’s not worth a star treatment in the longrun. Playing 2G encourages his worst and he’s not a reliable starter either way. I thought he was doomed after Cleveland and am surprised he lasted this long.
Pat Riley may have lifted him up because he was a bargain but he abandoned him hard after promotion.
What a waste of talent. Dude could’ve been a top scorer in the NBA.
Exactly.
He can’t even acknowledge what has happened in his career is his fault. What a cancer.
You’re insane. What did he ever do besides the pot brownie? Which is not a bad thing, btw.
Didn’t the Heat have to schedule and arrange an Emergency landing of the Team’s plane, to get him to a Hospital? That costs time and money. Rules of employment – don’t show up or get high or stoned on company time nor be the cause of embarrassment to your Employer.
And let’s not forget that he is one of the few people to overdose on pot gummies. How many did he have to take to do that?
You forgot he wasn’t allowed to even play with his team that preseason because of attitude issues and being too out of shape to play. Not to mention he was traded for next to nothing from the Cavs to OKC because of attitude issues.
I mean, I agree the rules are silly, but no one forced the players to sign off on those rules via the CBA. Silly or not, Dion and others made a voluntary commitment to follow those rules.
I so doubt that he was warned about the edibles and/or their strength, and anyway, a panic attack coming out of sleep is not something one has power over. I used to have those, and the cause was ASPERTAME in most diet pops.
It is hard to find a diet drink not sweetened by aspertame, which is a nerve stimulant not really sweet, and gets converted in the body to a dangerous chemical. (Look for sucralose in the ingredients, probably on the health-drink side of the aisle. Of course if you can still handle heaping gobs of sugar in your drinks, congrats, I cannot.)
I would like to hear if Waiters drank a lot of diet coke but they’re not even telling us whether the edibles were his. Sometimes I read brownies. Again, the they are called cannabis edibles.
“Gummies” can be used to relax on flights but they are falsely advertised by that name.
“Gummies” are a multivitamin or medicine or anything that children should get more of; it’s a form, not related to the active ingredients of cannabis or ANYTHING. It’s most likely ingredient is neutral geletin.
Cannabis for real (THC + CBD) is getting decriminalized everywhere, quit being old.
I never cared for Waiters as a player, but you clown shoes talking like your mail order “honorary GM” card you got when you were 5 doesnt mean you know better the situation hes in.
Everyone’s take so far on this is terrible. I’ve quit jobs myself over politics. It can be compared. I’ve worked in a few places where people can’t just shut up and do their jobs. They complicate the workday with stupid politics. In a lot of cases people are promoted because of some political nonsense reason rather than true merit. Not everyone fits in everywhere. There’s nothing wrong with the dude who’s fed up with job politics. And what he ever do that was bad? Eat a weed brownie? Ooh man.
Dude…It wasn’t that he “ate a weed Brownie” It’s that he ate one, couldn’t handle it, freaked out, and got suspended from his job. When I eat a brownie and freak out my buddies bust on me too. I had a buddy who took acid on a plane and thought spiders were hatching eggs in his brain. He lost it. We still make fun of him for it. It is what it is.
There were some other Incidents, prior to the brownie episode, that had him on thin Ice with the Miami Heat. Additionally, he could have waited to ingest his brownie once he got into the privacy of his Hotel room, but no, he chose to take it on an Airplane. That’s on him.
He’s probably got around $10M in his bank account at 30, its probably a better life to be a rich dude relaxing than the rigors of being a pro athlete where people who you don’t know care desperately about your life.
I don’t have nearly that much and I DGAF either.
Idk how easy it is to relax when the only life (and job) you’ve ever known is taken away from you, earlier than you were ready for. Money makes things easier but if it solved all problems maybe you need to listen to some puff daddy n mase…I’ll wait
By playing basketball, Dion can make alot more than
WAITERS !!
He could resume his career overseas…
he’s only 29 and he can still play.
The G.O.A.T.
“I ain’t do nothing.”
– Dion Waiters
He’s an Aaron Afllalo type player. Super numbers on bad teams, that doesn’t carry over on a good team…