NBA Rumors 2015: Oklahoma City Thunder and Dion Waiters Fail to Agree on Contract Extension

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Dion Waiters isn't expected to have a contract extension from his team before the deadline on Monday, which officially makes him a restricted free agent by next summer. What it means is that the team can match any contract offered to Waiters from another team.

This development in the negotiations between the two parties clearly indicate that the Thunder management is not convinced on what Waiters can provide to the team, or at least not in a way that he deserves a long-term contract. The fourth overall pick in the 2012 NBA Draft hasn't really shown his potential in the league after the Cavaliers thought he'd become a franchise player. As a backup guard for the Thunder, he currently averages 7.0 points in a little over 24 minutes of playing time.

By examining Oklahoma's history when it comes to players they refuse to extend before the deadline, Waiters should expect to get traded. This happened to former players like James Harden, Jeff Green, Reggie Jackson, and Eric Maynor, as reported by Fox Sports. This means that it is more likely that Waiters is on his way out.

But judging by the direction the team took this off-season when they re-signed two restricted free agents in center Enes Kanter and small forward Kyle Singler, then Waiters might have a slim chance of sticking with the team, provided he's still willing to be part of the Thunder.

It is also not helping that Waiters is a kind of player who likes to shoot the ball instead of create situations for his teammates on the floor. But the thing is that the Thunder actually need a potent scorer off the bench considering that more than half of the team's offensive production comes from starters Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. He certainly showed he can do it by scoring a career high 33 points against the Minnesota Timberwolves last season. But then again, he has to show more of that this season to earn a more lucrative contract, either from Oklahoma City or other teams out there.