Oklahoma City Thunder shooting guard Dion Waiters is now the subject of an NBA rumor that claims he is keen on playing for this hometown team, the Philadelphia 76ers, next season as his current contract was not extended by OKC.

The Philadelphia Inquirer reported on Monday that the mercurial guard "wants to play for the 76ers next season" and that the 23-year-old does not want to "acknowledge publicly his desire to play for the Sixers because he's still under contract with the Thunder".

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Waiters, who is in the final year of his four-year, $16.8 million deal with Oklahoma City, will be a restricted free agent in the summer of 2016, and would then be eligible for a $6.8 million qualifying offer from the team if he decides to stay.

OKC could also match any offer Waiters would receive from other teams, which means the former Syracuse standout could sign with Philadelphia, but still the Thunder will have the final decision if they want to let him go or not.

SB Nation noted that these rumors of Waiters wanting to go back to Philly began because of his reported "unhappiness with his role in Cleveland" last season. The report even mentioned a time when Waiters and Cavs superstar Kyrie Irving had an internal quarrel because the former thinks he is better than the three-time All-Star and Team USA starting point guard.

Eventually, Waiters was traded to the Thunder in January and he seemed comfortable where he is now in terms of both his role and the city he is playing in.

A recent Slam Online article indicated Waiters had denied the Sixers rumors, saying in a social media post that people should not "believe everything y'all hear" and he is "not worrying about money" as he is "chasing a championship" with his "bros" in Oklahoma City.

Meanwhile, Thunder general manager Sam Presti said that he is confident Waiters will want to stay with the team for the long term as the 2012 fourth overall pick told him "he has found a basketball home in Oklahoma City and is committed to being a part of the culture that exists".

TagsNBA rumors, NBA Rumors 2015, Oklahoma City Thunder rumors, Dion Waiters, philadelphia 76ers