Dion Waiters returns to Thunder one week after his brother’s death
Dion Waiters will be available for the Oklahoma City Thunder when they take on the Boston Celtics on Wednesday night, one week after the guard left the team following the death of his younger brother.
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Demetrius Pinckney, 21, was found dead in the Grays Ferry section of Philadelphia last Tuesday. Police said he had suffered severe head injuries, and that they were investigating his death as a homicide after several witnesses reported hearing gunshots following “some type of argument or disturbance that led to numerous dirt bike and ATV drivers chasing each other.”
Waiters went home to his native Philadelphia to mourn with his family, missing Oklahoma City’s win over the Los Angeles Clippers and the Thunder’s losses to the Minnesota Timberwolves and Portland Trail Blazers. He rejoined the team during Monday’s win over the Portland Trail Blazers, getting to Chesapeake Energy Arena midway through the contest and taking a seat on the Thunder bench.
He traveled with the team to Boston and, after going through shootaround Wednesday morning, the Thunder confirmed that he’d be available against the Celtics — albeit, understandably, with a heavy heart. From ESPN.com’s Royce Young:
“I probably haven’t cried like that since I lost my third cousin,” Waiters said following shootaround. “You know, I lost three cousins and my best friend. So this is like a replay. Every time something is going good, going great, there’s always something to remind you that it’s reality.
“I probably won’t be happy for a while. Long time, probably. I feel as though I could’ve done something different.” […]
“I realize how important it is to cherish life to enjoy and take full advantage of the life you’re living,” Waiters said. “That’s one thing I can put in perspective now, because I always question ‘why.’ But you can’t question why, things just happen. It’s a reality check for a lot of people, including myself.
“I’m not going to get over it. I think about it all day, every day. He’s never coming back. I hate talking about it because I get emotional, but it’s just sad, man. It’s sad because I feel as though I played a big role in his life. I helped him get away from that and he saw the bigger picture. I feel as though I was a little too late. That’s all.”
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While Oklahoma City could use the 6-foot-4 Waiters to help match up with a Celtics team loaded with tough perimeter talent, Thunder head coach Billy Donovan acknowledged Wednesday that “there will still be an adjustment period for the reserve shooting guard to get back into the swing of things,” according to Nick Gallo of Thunder.com:
“It’s going to take him a little bit of time to get back and get through what he’s been through and then physically get back,” Donovan said. “This is going to be a process for him mentally, emotionally and physically.”
“As a coach, besides the x’s and o’s and all those things that we all do, I need to help him get through some of this stuff in terms of the communication part of it,” Donovan explained.
Waiters’ loss is the latest in a string of tragic incidents to affect the Thunder. Ingrid Williams, the wife of associate head coach Monty Williams, died Feb. 10 after injuries suffered in a multi-car crash in Oklahoma City. Aubrey McClendon, one of the team’s minority-stake owners, died March 2 in a single-car crash one day after a federal grand jury indicted him on charges of conspiring to rig bidding oil and natural gas leases. Oklahoma City police said Monday that McClendon was driving 89 miles per hour just before slamming into a concrete bridge, and that “there was no evidence that McClendon tried to veer away before impact.”
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Dan Devine is an editor for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
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