Dion Waiters is pulled from lineup and dealt to Thunder

Dion Waiters said he was unaware of his role with the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday morning. By 7 p.m., the Philadelphia native didn't have to worry about that.

Waiters was pulled out of the starting lineup before the start of the game against the 76ers at the Wells Fargo Center. He was dealt to the Oklahoma City Thunder as part of a three-team trade.

The New York Knicks sent J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert to the Cavaliers and received Lou Amundson, Alex Kirk and a second-round pick in return. The Knicks also acquired Lance Thomas from Oklahoma City, which sent a protected 2015 first-round draft pick to Cleveland.

In addition to getting a solid player, the Thunder will get someone in Waiters who is not afraid to speak his mind.

He was asked about his role in Cleveland before the Cavaliers' shootaround on Monday morning. Waiters responded before the questioner could finish his sentence.

"I don't know what it is," said Waiters, who lost his starting shooting guard position after three games.

Why?

"I just don't know," he said. "It hasn't been consistent. So I just don't know."

Waiters said the uncertainty was partly his doing and partly that of the Cavs. There were a few occasions when he has played 20-plus minutes one game only to see less than 10 in the next one.

The best example was a three-game stretch from Dec. 17 through 21.

Waiters finished with 21 points in 26 minutes, 38 seconds in a lopsided home loss to the Atlanta Hawks on Dec. 17. He followed that by playing just 6:38 - all in the first half - in a close home victory over the Brooklyn Nets two nights later. Waiters finished with four points that game. Then when Cleveland beat the Memphis Grizzlies at home on Dec. 21, Waiters scored 21 points in 28:06. That game started a stretch of nine games in which Waiters was averaging 27 minutes.

"My job is to go in there and do what I do and try to win basketball games," he said. "That's the only thing I think is true."

Waiters averaged 10.5 points, which ranked fourth on the team behind LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love. It's his lowest scoring average since he was selected fourth overall by Cleveland in the 2012 NBA draft. He averaged 14.7 as a rookie and 15.9 last season.

James (knee and back strains) and Irving (lower-back tightness) did not travel with Cleveland to the game. Waiters had to sacrifice his game with the addition of James and Love this season.

Waiters, who played high school basketball at Life Center Academy in Burlington, purchased about 50 tickets for the game. The former Syracuse star said he has matured since his rookie season, and that maturity had helped him cope some with his decreased role.

Having a 1-year-old son, Dion Rhamik Waiters, has helped him mature and become more patient.

"I'm a totally different person from when I first got into the league," said Waiters, who doesn't have a middle name and is named after his father.

He didn't want his son to be Dion Waiters III, which is why his son received a middle name. And it's a middle name with significant meaning to Waiters.

"Rhamik was my best friend who got killed," he said. "My best friend died when I was 15. So I gave him his middle name. . . . His name is going to live forever."