The NBA career of Lindy Waters III is officially over for the time being, with the former Golden State Warriors wing leaving the league to sign with the Beijing Ducks of the CBA.
Waters' exit from the league is proof the Warriors mis-judged his value in the league, having seen something in the 29-year-old that rival teams clearly didn't as he departs after 196 combined games with the Oklahoma City Thunder, Warriors, Detroit Pistons and San Antonio Spurs.
Warriors saw something in Lindy Waters III rival teams clearly didn't
Golden State acquired Waters in a trade with the Thunder on the day of the 2024 NBA Draft, with the 6'5" wing making an immediete impression with a thrilling game-winner in the team's opening preseason game against the L.A. Clippers.
He played limited minutes through the first three games of the regular season, but exploded with 21 points, eight rebounds and four assists on 8-of-13 shooting in a home win against the New Orleans Pelicans.
That began an opportunity Waters got with the Warriors that he didn't receive elsewhere throughout his five-year career. He started just 10 combined games across his various stints in the league, nine of which came with the Warriors where he averaged 6.9 points and 3.0 rebounds but shot just 35.9% from the floor and 31.1% from 3-point range.
Exactly what Golden State saw in Waters to make him a starter for nine games isn't exactly clear, but it's a product of what's been an uncertain two-guard situation since the departure of franchise legend Klay Thompson in the same time period Waters arrived.
Lindy Waters III couldn't make impact in Detroit or San Antonio
Waters wound up playing 38 games for the Warriors before being involved in last February's Jimmy Butler trade, ending up in Detroit where his minutes fell off to less than nine per game in only 14 appearances.
The Oklahoma product got a one-year deal at the Spurs but averaged just seven minutes across 40 regular season games, and wasn't part of their rotation on route to an NBA Finals loss to the New York Knicks.
The Thunder, Pistons and Spurs moved on from Waters, and clearly there was little to no interest from rival teams this offseason hence his move to China. The Warriors also moved on after a short period, but not before a moment of optimism where they thought they had a legitimate long-term player on their hands.
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