Thunder rescind Dion Waiters’ qualifying offer

In the wake of signing guard Alex Abrines on Monday, the Thunder have rescinded Dion Waiters’ qualifying offer, therefore making him an unrestricted free agent and removing their ability to match any offer sheet, as reported other various places.

Waiters’ qualifying offer was $6.8 million, a one-year deal that Waiters could agree to at any point should he not get a better offer sheet. The Thunder did not renounce him though, meaning they retain his Bird Rights. The Thunder could conceivably re-sign him via unrestricted free agency, but all signs point to him going elsewhere.

What does this mean you ask? Well, for one, Dion Waiters isn’t going to be on the Thunder next season. Two, it means the Thunder have opened up a little more flexibility for a number of different things, like a) negotiating an extension for Russell Westbrook or b) having more cap space to engineer a Westbrook trade.

What it really means is Waiters’ can no longer accept that one-year deal and put the Thunder in a bit of a cap space bind, especially if they have eyes on renegotiating with Westbrook. His $12.8 million cap hold remains on their books, but the moment he signs elsewhere — which is likely to happen soon now — that is removed.