IN THE LANE

DION ON KYRIE: While Dion Waiters was in Philadelphia for his annual charity weekend, Kyrie Irving was in South Florida for a few days. Although their paths might not have crossed, Irving’s pending trade request from the Cleveland Cavaliers includes interest in the Heat. Waiters said he would have no issue being reunited with his former teammate. “There’s never been a problem,” Waiters said during an interview with the HipHopSince1987.com website. “He can come down. We can boogie together.” Waiters said he appreciates Irving wanting to spread his wings beyond LeBron James’ orbit. “We talk, we have talks,” the Heat guard said. “I’d be lying if I said I’m surprised. You see what I’m saying? So, at the end of the day, like I knew what’s up. And the end of the day, I respect him. He won one [NBA title]. It’s time for him to go take on a bigger role, be that leader, be that guy and he is that guy now. He wants to be that guy, I guess. There’s nothing wrong with that.” Waiters said learning from LeBron is something he also could appreciate. “When I played ’Bron, I soaked everything in. I was a sponge,” he said. “’Bron took me under his wing from day one.” WAITING GAME: Even with Kelly Olynyk switching from the No. 41 he wore with the Celtics to No. 9 with the Heat, former Heat forward Glen Rice said he has not heard anything about the Heat eventually retiring his No. 41. The Heat have not issued No. 41 since Rice left in the 1995 preseason trade with the Charlotte Hornets that landed Alonzo Mourning. “I’ll be honest with you, I don’t think about it,” said Rice, who assisted this summer at the Heat’s youth camp. “Every time a number goes up there and championships are won, I always feel like I’m a part of it, so I’m not really worried about my number going up there. When it’s time for it to go up there and if it does, I’ll be very appreciative.” Asked what it would be like to perhaps see another Heat player one day wear No. 41, Rice said, “I’m sure it would be different. It would be a weird feeling. But at the same time, they better be able to go out there and represent it well.” Olynyk previously wore No. 13 while playing at Gonzaga, with that number assigned to first-round pick Bam Adebayo before Olynyk was signed in free agency. Rice said he was not involved in the decision not to issue No. 41. “No,” he said. “that wasn’t me.” Adebayo had to make a concession of his own, having worn No. 3 at Kentucky. LUKE’S LESSON: Luke Babbitt already has had one thing with the Atlanta Hawks he never had with the Heat, an introductory media conference. Signed to the NBA minimum in free agency, the outside-shooting forward said he will bring lessons from the Heat’s revival from 11-30 to 41-41 last season during his lone year with the Heat. “It just shows that you can’t listen to outside noise,” he said amid projections of the Hawks falling to the bottom of the Eastern Conference with their latest rebuild. “You have to stay together as a group. That’s what we did last year, and it’s a good lesson for every team. There are teams that do that every year, surprise people.” ESPN came up with this unique fact: Babbitt’s 15.7 minutes per game last season was the lowest average last season of any player to start at least 50 games.