Miami Heat shooting guard Dion Waiters will test out NBA free agency this coming offseason. The news came on Friday, as Waiters is now the second Heat player in as many days to announce he'll opt to become an unrestricted free agent. The former guard from Syracuse is coming off a season in which he had career-highs in several statistical categories, which may have increased his value around the league for other teams in need of his services. Here is the latest on the Dion Waiters NBA Free Agency rumors and news.

Waiters' player option

It was reported Friday by various sources including ESPN, that Waiters opted to decline his 2017-18 player option on his contract.

The guard reportedly will turn down just over $3.2 million in order to test out free agency as of July 1st. June 29 is his official deadline date which is one week after the 2017 NBA Draft takes place.

As mentioned, Dion Waiters was able to set new career-highs in several of his stats. These include his 3.3 rebounds, 4.3 assists, and a 40 percent 3-point shot percentage. He averaged 15.8 points per game, which was the second-highest scoring average of his career thus far.

Waiters previously played for the Oklahoma City Thunder. He started out with the Cleveland Cavaliers, who drafted him in 2012 as the No. 4 pick, before trading him to OKC several seasons later.

Other Heat notes

Dion Waiters now joins Willie Reed as members of the Miami Heat roster to recently opt for free agency.

There are also rumors that big man Josh McRoberts may follow suit, as he is the only other player that could choose to decline a player option on his contract this offseason.

The Heat team is in an interesting situation where they will be able to go after a new piece for their roster with the No. 14 draft pick. Some are speculating that it could be a big man such as North Carolina's Justin Jackson.

In addition, this is a team that was very close to making the NBA Playoffs this past season. They failed to do so due to a tie-breaker situation with the Chicago Bulls, showing just how much promise the roster could hold for the 2017-18 NBA season. A lot will come down to what the team does to try to improve their roster more.

NBA rumors have suggested they could target a player such as Carmelo Anthony or Blake Griffin to join Hassan Whiteside and Goran Dragic in Miami. However, Pat Riley may also be looking to simply rebuild this team as they have young talent in place and now another draft pick on the way. Still, a player like Dion Waiters is of considerable value to this team, but another squad could certainly try to offer him a heftier payday.
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