Source: Waiters wasn't targeting Sixers on Instagram
Sorry, 76ers fans. Dion Waiters wasn't making reference to your team.
Waiters used the hashtag #TRUSTTHEPROCESS on his Instagram account Tuesday night while working out with his personal trainer. There were some who wondered if Waiters was referring to the 76ers slogan 'Trust the Process.'
The 6-foot-4, 220-pound free agent had expressed interest in playing for his hometown team.
But …
"That doesn't have anything to do with the Sixers," a source close to Waiters said. "That's a mantra that he and his trainer have made for a while. When things weren't doing well at Syracuse, they would say 'trust the process.' Whenever he goes through a tough time, he says 'trust the process.' Right now, he's trusting the process of free agency."
A league source said talks could resume with Waiters and the Sixers. However, the source said some within the franchise don't want to add Waiters after what the team went through with Jahlil Okafor last season.
The center saw a gun pointed at his head in Old City. He also was stopped for going more than 108 mph over the Ben Franklin Bridge. And Okafor was involved in two street fights in the early hours of Thanksgiving morning in Boston.
The source added that some in the organization are interested in Waiters. However, concerns over the South Philly native's being a good fit and possible off-the-court incidents might be too much for the franchise.
Waiters' 21-year-old brother, Demetrius Pinckney, was murdered in March in the Grays Ferry section of Philadelphia. At the time, Police Commissioner Richard Ross said the incident might have resulted from a years-old feud.
This was just the latest in a series of tragedies that Waiters, 24, has endured. When he was growing up, three of cousins and a close friend were killed in his old neighborhood.
The Sixers are concerned that there will be an environment in which trouble will follow him, a source said. There's also concern that the sometimes-blunt Waiters wouldn't mesh well with the Sixers' young players.
The Oklahoma City Thunder lifted the restricted free-agent tag off Waiters on Monday, meaning he can sign with any team without the Thunder holding the right to match any offer he receives.
Right now, it's appears the Brooklyn Nets and Los Angeles Lakers provide the best financial options, besides the Sixers, for Waiters.
But with playing for the Sixers less likely, Waiters would love to latch on to a team capable of making a deep postseason run. The problem is that some of his preferred destinations no longer have the cap space to offer a lucrative deal.
Waiters is holding out hope that something opens up in the near future. That's why a source said he's "trusting the process."
Follow contact 76ers beat writer Keith Pompey on Twitter @PompeyOnSixers and Instagram on PompeyOnSixers