AP Source: Heat, Waiters agree on new deal

“Big Congrats to @dionwaiters3 on the new deal with The Heat,” Wade tweeted Wednesday. “It was only right bro!!!”

Miami missed out on landing Gordon Hayward this week, when the All-Star forward decided that he will be signing with the Boston Celtics. So Plan B for Miami meant retaining its own free agents like Waiters and James Johnson.

The Heat are making progress toward a deal with Johnson, who has made no secret that he has wanted to be back in Miami.

“We’re going to hopefully make the right selections,” Heat President Pat Riley said going into the off-season. “I hope that Dion and James and the rest of our free agents like it here enough that we’re going to be fair with them and they’re going to be fair with us.”

The 25-year-old Waiters missed Miami’s last 13 games because of a badly sprained ankle, and the Heat wound up losing a tiebreaker for the final Eastern Conference playoff spot. He played for $2.9 million last season, saying he took a small deal in order to prove he was worthy of big dollars in the future.

Waiters said after the regular season that his plan, and his hope, was to stay with the Heat.

“We’re just getting started,” Waiters said in April. “It’s only the beginning. It’s only the beginning.”

Miami is Waiters’ third team, after his career started with stops in Cleveland and Oklahoma City after he left Syracuse and turned pro. He’s averaged 13.2 points in 335 career games.

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More AP NBA: www.apnews.com/tag/NBAbasketball

Tim Reynolds, The Associated Press

by Canadian Press

AP Source: Heat, Waiters agree on new deal

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