Dion Waiters’ Time to Shine With LeBron James Out

The Cleveland Cavaliers will be without LeBron James for two weeks, 10 games. No team is better losing the best player in the league but it could be great news for Dion Waiters, and in return for hte Cavs as well. The young shooting guard has had his ups and downs with the Cavs and has really struggled to find his place on the new look, new aspirations Cavaliers.

Now with LeBron out it could be Dion Waiters’ time to shine. With James and Kyrie Irving often sharing the floor with Waiters, Dion has struggled to make an impact. Often limited to catch and shoot chances, which we believe he could do very well at but hasn’t embraced, or trying to make sure he gets his shots for fear of not getting the ball back.

With James out the Cavaliers lose their primary ball handler. Most expect that Irving will take back that role but what if it is Waiters who takes on LeBron’s responsibilities?

Irving already has started to adjust to playing off the ball, and has really excelled in that role. He and LeBron have formed a tandem that works well together and should work well together the same way when James returns. So instead of changing Irving’s role back to primary ball handler, why not let him continue to play most of his time off the ball and let someone else handle the rock?

Why not let that be Dion Waiters? Waiters is no where near on the same level as LeBron James but he does have the talent to get to the hole, distribute the ball and take over the offense. Similar things to what James has been doing all season for the Cavs. Waiters could bring the ball up, initiate the offense, getting ball and player movement and either find the open man or take the shot.

Irving continues to grow in his role as an off the ball cutter, shooter and creator while allowing Waiters to thrive in his new role. When LeBron returns he simply takes back over the way he has been playing and Irving doesn’t have to change at all.

Waiters gets the chance to prove his worth, renewing both his confidence and his teammates/coaches confidence in him and ups his trade value. The Cavs get a chance to really highlight Waiters for trade discussions, keep some continuity with how their starting rotation plays and give Waiters a shot and showing he can be a key component for the team long term.

Obviously this could backfire. Waiters could become infatuated with the power that comes with handling the ball and freeze out Irving, some LeBron rarely does. He could fall back into terrible, inefficient step back jumpers that plagued him since his rookie season or he could cause more issues when James returns and his role is diminished.

While all of those are possible, inserting Dion Waiters into the LeBron James role for the Cleveland offense is the best chance the team has during James’ 2 week absence as well as for their future. A great Waiters either solidifies his spot with the team for the future or ramps up trade interest for other teams that might build around him as their 2nd tier type star.

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Who else on the Cavs is going to help fill James’ role? Shawn Marion is far too old and is a limited offensive player. James Jones and Mike Miller are great shooters but little else. Matthew Dellavedova can bring the ball up, set hard screens and play scrappy on both ends of the floor but is far from dynamic. Joe Harris is a rookie and purely a shooter at this point. Irving already has his responsibilities.

That leaves Dion Waiters as the player that both has to and gets to step up in LeBron James absence due to injury. Inserting him into the starting lineup, moving Mike Miller down to the 3 spot, to go along with Irving, Kevin Love and Tristan Thompson is the best way to move the Cavs along.

This could be Dion Waiters last chance to really show what he can do with the Cleveland Cavaliers. He could set the world on fire with James out and further cement himself as a player teams can build around.

Or it could all blow up in the Cavs face, but at this point can it really get any worse?

What do you think of the idea of Dion Waiters filling LeBron James’ role while the Cavs star is out?