Report: Waiters becomes UFA as Thunder rescind qualifying offer

The Oklahoma City Thunder have rescinded their qualifying offer to shooting guard Dion Waiters, according to The Vertical's Adrian Wojnarowski.

In so doing, the Thunder renounce their matching rights on Waiters, and allow him to become an unrestricted free agent.

Wojnarowski speculates that part of the Thunder's motivation for rescinding the qualifying offer is to preserve cap space for the possibility of negotiating an extension with Russell Westbrook. They also signed international wing Alex Abrines to a three-year deal on Monday.

Because they didn't renounce him, the Thunder still retain Bird rights on Waiters, so they can still go over the salary cap to re-sign him, if that's their intention. But they've ceded control of the situation to Waiters, and opened the door for another team to swoop in with an offer.

Even as a restricted free agent, Waiters was reportedly receiving interest from the Philadelphia 76ers and Sacramento Kings.

The 24-year-old is coming off a season in which he averaged a career-low 9.8 points per game and shot under 40 percent from the field. But he also shot a career-high 35.8 percent from 3-point range, and proved capable of consistently staying engaged on defense and playing within his limits - two things he'd never really demonstrated before. He was a valuable role player for the Thunder, particularly during the incendiary playoff run that brought them to within a game of the Finals.