Why Dion Waiters is Cleveland Cavaliers X-Factor

By Dan Schultz @DSchultz89 on October 9, 2014

The Cleveland Cavaliers had the best offseason in their franchise’s history this past summer. They signed LeBron James, extended the contract of Kyrie Irving, and traded for superstar power forward Kevin Love. These were all outstanding moves that have turned the franchise from a lottery team to a title contender instantly.

While much of the talk has been rightfully centered on James’ return home, Love’s impact, and Irving’s maturation into a star, not much has been said about perhaps the most vocal player on the Cavaliers, Dion Waiters.

His reputation took a hit last year after reports that he and Irving were possibly feuding in the locker room. One reason the Cavaliers struggled last season was because of just how ball-dominant both Irving and Waiters are, and as a result each had difficulty adjusting to one another and trying to establish some sense of chemistry.

Waiters seemed to put an end to any sort of bad blood with Irving when he called the pair the best young backcourt in the league last week. Confidence has never been an issue with Waiters, but now that he is showing he wants to be a more supportive teammate, the Cavaliers have to be very encouraged that he is rounding a corner.

The next step for Waiters is to learn how to play off of Irving and James, two ball-dominant players themselves. Waiters should work on improving his outside jump shot to help with the Cavaliers’ spacing, which would make him an automatic favorite with new Head Coach David Blatt. His game has often been compared to Dwyane Wade’s, and now that he is entering his third season in the NBA, it will be fascinating to see whether or not Waiters can take that leap to stardom.

The Cavaliers and their fans already know what they can expect to get out of James, Irving, and Love. Waiters remains a mystery in terms of where he fits in for a variety of reasons. If he can develop his jump shot to the point where defenses respect it and contest it all the time, the Cavaliers will be an even more dangerous team than they are already.

This is why Waiters is the X-factor for this Cavaliers team. No one has really placed any sort of expectations on him given the wealth of talent the Cavaliers have now. This means that Waiters should come into this season with even more confidence, knowing that defenses will not be paying him as much attention as they do the “Big Three” of the Cavaliers.

Because of this, Waiters should also come in with a chip on his shoulder. He should be thinking “Why isn’t everybody calling us ‘The Big Four?” After all, he was drafted fourth overall in the 2012 NBA Draft, which is a very high selection. In the Cavaliers’ eyes, they still rightfully believe Waiters will develop into a star for them.

Granted, his stats may not blow people away now that he is surrounded by superstars, but he can still make a huge impact. If he continues to improve like he has done in his first couple of years in the league, and shows a willingness to be unselfish and do what is good for the team, he can become not just a crucial player for this Cavaliers team, but arguably the biggest difference maker of all.

Dan Schultz is an NBA sports writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on twitter @dschultz89. “Like” him on Facebook and add him on Google.