"I kept coming back to the same thought," Scott said. "The kid is good."
With Scott's blessing and insistence, the Cavaliers selected the sophomore guard from South Philadelphia with the No. 4 pick in the NBA draft, giving them a backcourt partner for reigning rookie of the year Kyrie Irving and another player capable of making big plays in crunch time.
The Cavs may have stunned some of their fans by taking Waiters, but Scott said the Big East's best sixth man was always their top target.
"There's only one other player we would have took," Scott did. "That's the one that went No. 1."
Waiters, who was introduced Friday along with No. 17 pick North Carolina center Tyler Zeller, never started in two years playing for Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim, who liked the spark he got from the 6-foot-4 guard off the bench. Waiters may have only averaged 12.6 points as a reserve, but Scott said not to be fooled by the 20-year-old's limited minutes.
"The fact that the guy didn't start doesn't mean anything to me," Scott said. "The fact that he finished pretty much every game is what I looked at, and the fact that he had the ball in his hands and was able to create for himself and his teammates."
Team scouts spent time on Syracuse's campus to see whether there was anything to Waiters' going to four high schools or reports of his bumping heads with Boeheim. In the end, they were satisfied.
"He's a pit bull," Scott said. "This kid isn't afraid of anyone."
