Austin Rivers Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Rockets Sign Austin Rivers

December 24th, 2018 at 11:09am CST by Arthur Hill

DECEMBER 24, 11:09am: The Rockets have officially signed Rivers to a rest-of-season deal, announcing the news in a press release.

DECEMBER 23, 1:34pm: Rivers will get back the $650K he gave to Phoenix in his buyout agreement, plus nearly $500K more from the Rockets, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks. Houston’s cap hit will fall between $914K and $931K, depending on when his signing becomes official. The Rockets don’t play again until Tuesday.

DECEMBER 23, 12:53pm: Former Wizards guard Austin Rivers has reached an agreement to join the Rockets, tweets Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle.

His contract will be fully guaranteed for the rest of the season, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). Houston has an open roster spot, so no corresponding move will be necessary. The Rockets have part of their mid-level exception remaining, but there’s no word on whether Rivers will receive more than a veteran’s minimum contract. His new salary will cut into the $12MM still owed to him by the Suns, who waived him earlier this week.

Houston has a need for guard help with Chris Paul sidelined for at least the next two weeks with a strained hamstring. The move reunites the former Clippers teammates, who had an uneasy relationship when they were together in L.A. Sources tell Wojnarowski that Paul had no objections to signing Rivers, understanding that the team needs immediate backcourt help (Twitter link).

The agreement with the Rockets caps an eventful nine days for Rivers, who was involved in a canceled three-team trade, then was dealt to the Suns the next day. He reached a buyout agreement with Phoenix and has been looking for an opportunity with a contending team that could offer him consistent playing time. Houston qualified when Paul got injured Thursday night.

Rivers was having a productive first year in Washington after being acquired from the Clippers in an offseason trade. Used mainly in a reserve role, he posted a 7.2/2.4/2.0 line through 29 games.

Austin Rivers Seeks Playoff Contender, Regular Minutes

December 21st, 2018 at 9:32am CST by Luke Adams

Veteran guard Austin Rivers officially became a free agent on Thursday after being released by the Suns earlier this week, and is now eligible to sign with any team except the Wizards.

While Rivers has heard from multiple teams interested in adding him, he plans to take his time choosing his new club, according to Keith Smith of Yahoo Sports, who tweets that Rivers would like to join a playoff contender willing to give him regular minutes.

The Grizzlies are one team that could fit that bill, and it briefly appeared that Rivers had lined up a deal with Memphis on Tuesday. However, that report was shot down, with Chris Herrington of The Daily Memphian indicating that the Grizzlies discussed the idea of signing the 26-year-old, but opted not to move forward and finalize a deal.

After enjoying a career year in Los Angeles last season for the Clippers, with 15.1 PPG, 4.0 APG, and a .378 3PT% in 61 games (33.7 MPG), Rivers has struggled so far in 2018/19. In 29 games (23.6 MPG) with the Wizards, the former Duke Blue Devil posted 7.2 PPG and 2.0 APG with a .392/.311/.543 shooting line.

This season’s struggles may limit Rivers’ appeal to some extent, but based on Smith’s report, it sounds as if he has at least a few potential suitors. Shams Charania of The Athletic also said earlier this week that four or five teams had interest in Rivers, though he has since deleted that tweet.

Austin Rivers

Suns Notes: Rivers, Oubre, Doncic, McDonough

December 20th, 2018 at 12:39pm CST by Luke Adams

Although initial reports suggested the Suns would likely release Austin Rivers without a buyout, the veteran guard ended up giving back $650K to the team when he was waived this week, per Gina Mizell of The Athletic (Twitter link). Rivers had been on a $12.65MM expiring deal, so he’ll still make $12MM in 2018/19 as a result of that contract, with Phoenix paying the majority of that money.

As cap expert Albert Nahmad details (via Twitter), Rivers should still come out ahead as long as it doesn’t take him long to finalize a new deal. If Rivers signs shortly after clearing waivers on Thursday, a minimum salary contract for the rest of the season would pay him about $1.2MM. He could tack on that figure to the $12MM he’s already earning on his previous deal, exceeding $13MM for the season.

Here’s more on the Suns:

Following last week’s failed three-team trade drama and an eventual move to Phoenix, Kelly Oubre spoke to Sean Deveney of The Sporting News about his new NBA home, suggesting that he’s “excited” about the change. Sources tell Deveney that Oubre drew interest from multiple teams, including his hometown Pelicans, before the Suns acquired him.
Deveney also reports that Oubre would “certainly be willing” to remain in Phoenix beyond this season, despite the club’s spot at the bottom of the Western Conference standings. Of course, since he’s a restricted free agent in 2019, it might be tricky for him to change teams even if he wanted to.
Within a profile on Mavericks rookie Luka Doncic, ESPN’s Tim MacMahon cites a source who says that Suns head coach Igor Kokoskov “loved” Doncic, but had minimal input in Phoenix No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 draft.
After being fired by the Suns in October, former general manager Ryan McDonough plans to stay involved in the NBA in some capacity, but it still figuring out his next steps, he tells Steve Bulpett of The Boston Herald. In the meantime, he’s staying busy in an informal capacity for some NBA clubs. “A number of teams — probably a majority of the other 29 clubs — reached out, and a lot of them expressed interest in having me come visit or just kind of come observe what they do and exchange ideas and all that kind of stuff,” McDonough said. “So that’s what I’ve been doing the last couple of weeks. I was in Oakland on Monday night for the Grizzlies-Warriors game and was around the Golden State group for a few days, and in the weeks before that I’ve been to Denver and Utah and San Antonio, as well.”

Suns’ James Jones Talks Rivers, Ariza, Oubre, PGs

December 19th, 2018 at 10:24am CST by Luke Adams

League executives were puzzled by the Suns‘ decision to waive both Tyson Chandler and Austin Rivers so early in the season, according to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst. As Windhorst observes, even though the Suns may be tanking and weren’t interested in taking on multiyear money, parting ways with Chandler and Rivers – who were both on expiring contracts – closes the door on possible trade opportunities at the deadline.

In a discussion with Gina Mizell of The Athletic, interim co-general manager James Jones indirectly addressed those criticisms, explaining that Phoenix wants to do right by players. “We should be a place where every party, everyone involved, feels invested and feels connected,” Jones said. In the case of Rivers, Jones said that the team and Rivers’ camp mutually agreed that it “would be best if he found an opportunity that fit him better.”

Jones also weighed in on a handful of other subjects during conversations with Mizell and Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic, so we’ll round up some of his most noteworthy comments here:

On whether it was true that team owner Robert Sarver wouldn’t allow Trevor Ariza to be sent to the Lakers:

“No. Throughout all of this, Robert has been adamant that his focus is on what helps the Suns grow and be the best. That was inaccurate. Actually, if something could have worked out, Robert would have been a huge proponent, just because of that investment and understanding that Trevor and his family are (based) on the West Coast. If we can do right for both parties, it should make sense. There’s no reason why you wouldn’t do something that benefits both parties.”

On what he expects Kelly Oubre to bring to the Suns:

“Exactly what he’s demonstrated in the past. He’s young, but he’s experienced. He’s played in a lot of games. He’s played in the playoffs. He’s had tremendous success against some of the best players in the Eastern Conference, some of the best players in the NBA as a whole. His athleticism, his activity, just his competitiveness is something that, as we look at building the identity of this team, those are the foundational characteristics of all the players that we target. Do they play hard? Do they compete? Are they selfless? Do they sacrifice to win? He embodies that, and that’s why we’re excited to have him.”

On what happened with last Friday’s failed three-team trade involving the Wizards and Grizzlies:

“I’ll leave it as just a miscommunication. Going forward, we’re excited to have Kelly. Through everything, we have Kelly. We have a guy we know fits with us and we’re excited about.”

On the Suns’ ongoing search for an answer at point guard:

“For us, as free agency hit (during the 2018 offseason), you talk about that tier of starting caliber point guards, they chose other destinations that were a better fit and better suited to compete right now. As far as trades, I always say it takes two to tango. That’s not something you can control.

“For us at that position, we need someone who will compete defensively, can be impactful and can play well off our other perimeters… [De’Anthony Melton]’s been doing that and we’ll keep pushing him to get better.”

Western Notes: Oubre, Rivers, Doncic, Young

December 18th, 2018 at 5:31pm CST by ChrisCrouse

New addition Kelly Oubre is expected to make his debut for the Suns on Wednesday against the Celtics. It’s unclear what role he’ll play in Phoenix but the 23-year-old appears ready for whatever the team asks of him.

“They’re on a three-game winning streak, man, and I don’t wanna come in and slow them down in any type of way,” Oubre said (via Gina Mizell of The Athletic). “I try to help everybody get better, and in the process be aggressive and find myself in the system…I bring a lot of energy.”

Here’s more from the Pacific Division:

The Suns officially waived Austin Rivers earlier today and it’s unlikely any team claims Rivers off of waivers, ESPN’s Bobby Marks contends (Twitter link). The Nuggets are the only team with enough cap space to make the claim and it’s unlikely they take a flyer on Rivers at his current $12.65MM salary since doing so would take them across the luxury tax threshold.
The Mavericks had conducted years of homework on Luka Doncic prior to the 2018 NBA Draft and it wasn’t difficult to convince owner Mark Cuban to trade up and nab the 19-year-old, as Eddie Sefko of Sports Day relays.“Mark saw all the same things we did,” GM Donnie Nelson said. “There were no coconuts necessary on this one.”
Nick Young, who recently signed with the Nuggets on a non-guaranteed, one-year deal, is fitting in well with his new team, Mike Singer of The Denver Post details. Assistant coach Wes Unseld Jr. applauds Young’s adaptability. “He’s been as kind-hearted as they come. I think a lot of times [Young is] misunderstood, but there’s not a negative bone in his body,” Unseld said. “He is one of the most positive people that I’ve ever met. A little different, a little eclectic, but he’s very positive and it’s good particularly in the situation he’s in. Guys gravitate toward him.”

Suns Waive Austin Rivers

December 18th, 2018 at 4:10pm CST by marksuleymanov

DECEMBER 18: The Suns have waived Rivers, according to the team’s website. He will clear waivers on Thursday at approximately 5:00 pm Eastern Time.

DECEMBER 17: The Suns have agreed to part ways with veteran point guard Austin Rivers, whom the team acquired in the Trevor Ariza deal, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).

Rivers, 26, is making $12.6MM this season in the final year of a four-year pact he inked with the Clippers in 2016. Los Angeles traded Rivers to the Wizards in the summer in exchange for Marcin Gortat. Per Wojnarowski, both sides agreed that Rivers fits better on an older team contending for the postseason. If and when Rivers clears waivers, he will be eligible to sign with any team except for Washington.

Earlier today, we relayed Suns’ head coach Igor Kokoskov expressing excitement at Phoenix utilizing Oubre and Rivers.

“We need somebody who’s gonna help us with maintaining,” he said. “A lot of games, we can’t go through the 48 minutes…We’re gonna find their roles. We definitely can use the talent and experience they have.”

In 29 games this season, Rivers is averaging 7.2 PPG, 2.4 RPG and 2.0 APG. Those totals are down from the previous two seasons when the California native was a starter for the Clippers. Last season, he set a career-high 15.1 PPG and 4.0 APG in 61 games (59 starts).

Still, Rivers has significant postseason experience and could be a helpful piece to a team that needs scoring off the bench.

Austin Rivers Drawing Interest From 4-5 Teams

December 18th, 2018 at 3:15pm CST by Luke Adams

3:15pm: Chris Herrington of The Daily Memphian is now hearing that the Grizzlies won’t be signing Rivers after all. According to Herrington, the team discussed the idea, but doesn’t plan on pursuing a deal at this time.

2:43pm: Four or five teams are still expressing interest in Rivers, according to Charania, who notes (via Twitter) that there’s been no formal offer yet from Memphis, since Rivers is still a Sun. While the Grizzlies still appear to be the frontrunners for the veteran guard, it sounds like it may not be a sure thing quite yet.

1:20pm: Austin Rivers technically hasn’t been released yet by the Suns, but once he’s officially cut and clears waivers, he’s expected to finalize a new deal with the Grizzlies, league sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Reports on Monday night indicated that Phoenix would be parting ways with Rivers shortly after acquiring him from the Wizards. The 26-year-old was part of the package Washington sent to the Suns in exchange for Trevor Ariza. However, Kelly Oubre was the prize of that package for the Suns, who decided to let Rivers try to catch on with a contending team.

Rivers and his representatives wasted little time in lining up a new deal for the veteran guard, though some details will need to be ironed out before he officially joins the Grizzlies. For one, Memphis currently has a full roster of 15 players on guaranteed contracts. One of those players will need to be traded or released to make room for Rivers.

It will be interesting to see if the odd man out in Memphis is MarShon Brooks, whom the Grizzlies were ready to trade to Phoenix in a three-team Ariza deal on Friday before the trade fell apart because the Suns thought they were getting Dillon Brooks.

MarShon has played fairly regular minutes this season, but would overlap positionally with Rivers, and waiving him might allow the Grizzlies to avoid any lingering locker-room awkwardness after last week’s failed trade. Ivan Rabb and even Chandler Parsons could also be release candidates in Memphis.

Meanwhile, since the Suns haven’t officially waived Rivers yet, they may be in position to negotiate a small buyout with him. Players in Rivers’ situation are typically only open to buyouts if they have a new NBA home lined up — now that the Grizzlies are poised to sign him, perhaps Rivers would be willing to give back the equivalent of his prorated minimum salary, which he’d receive from Memphis on his new deal.

For what it’s worth, the Grizzlies can’t offer Rivers more than the minimum, since they used their full mid-level exception on Kyle Anderson and used their bi-annual exception last season on Tyreke Evans.

After enjoying a career year in Los Angeles last season for the Clippers, with 15.1 PPG, 4.0 APG, and a .378 3PT% in 61 games (33.7 MPG), Rivers has struggled so far in 2018/19. In 29 games (23.6 MPG) with the Wizards, the former Duke Blue Devil posted 7.2 PPG and 2.0 APG with a .392/.311/.543 shooting line. Assuming they’re able to finalize a deal, the Grizzlies will be hoping for a bounce-back performance from Rivers in Memphis.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Examining Suns’, Wizards’ Latest Roster Moves

December 18th, 2018 at 9:44am CST by Luke Adams

Shortly after completing their trade that sent Trevor Ariza to Washington and Kelly Oubre and Austin Rivers to Phoenix, the Suns and Wizards each lined up an additional roster move — the Suns are parting ways with Rivers, while the Wizards are re-signing Chasson Randle.

Rivers’ release was somewhat unexpected, and there’s more to the Wizards’ decision to re-sign Randle than initially meets the eye, so let’s take a closer look at each move…

Suns parting ways with Austin Rivers:

The Suns, who have had a revolving door of starting point guards this season, were said to be shopping for a play-making guard when they put Ariza on the trade block. The centerpiece of the deal they ultimately made was another forward in Oubre. However, their return also included Rivers, who is capable of handling the ball, even if he’s not a traditional point guard.

As such, it came as a surprise when Phoenix quickly reached an agreement to part ways with Rivers. The Suns and Rivers’ camp reportedly agreed that he’d be a better fit with a more veteran team that’s in playoff contention.

The Suns, under new interim GM James Jones, had already shown a willingness this year to part ways with a useful veteran player well in advance of the NBA’s typical buyout period, as they reached an agreement to cut Tyson Chandler in early November. In Chandler’s case though, the Suns at least got a little money back in a buyout. As Keith Smith of Yahoo Sports confirms (via Twitter), Rivers’ release won’t include any form of buyout, since he doesn’t have his next team lined up yet.

It’s possible that no good would have come of keeping Rivers around for the next couple months — maybe he would have been upset about being sent to the worst team in the West and wouldn’t have been a good fit in Phoenix’s locker room. Perhaps the Suns couldn’t have flipped him for anything worthwhile in another deal before the deadline.

Still, it looks like an odd move on the surface. The Suns recently carried 13 players for nearly two full weeks and still had just 14 players on their squad before making the Ariza trade, so it’s not as if they’re desperate to open up a roster spot.

Even if Rivers had no interest in suiting up for the Suns, they could have kept him under contract for the time being to see if his $12.65MM expiring contract had any use on the trade market. Once they formally waive Rivers, the Suns’ most valuable expiring contract will be Dragan Bender‘s, worth $4.66MM. That’s not a big enough cap figure to match a contract in the $10-15MM range if another trade opportunity opens up for Phoenix, which could limit the club’s options at the deadline.

Wizards re-signing Chasson Randle:

The Wizards‘ latest reunion with Randle may not be as interesting as the Suns’ release of Rivers, but it’s somewhat noteworthy.

The NBA allows teams to dip down to 13 players for two weeks at a time before getting back up to the minimum of 14 players, and the Wizards have been bouncing back and forth between 13 and 14 players so far this season in an effort to keep their projected luxury-tax bill in check. Washington had already waived and re-signed Randle once earlier this fall in order to reach the league’s minimum roster requirements.

The Wizards slipped back to 13 players as a result of the Ariza deal and have until New Year’s Eve to add a 14th player, so they’ll once again sign Randle to get back to the minimum. However, in this case, it appears they’ll sign him well before that deadline arrives. As cap expert Albert Nahmad observes (via Twitter), re-signing Randle right away instead of waiting the two weeks will cost the Wizards about $294K in salary and tax savings. So why bring back Randle so soon?

Well, having traded away Rivers and Oubre, the Wizards could use the depth. John Wall, Bradley Beal, Tomas Satoransky, and two-way player Jordan McRae are essentially the only backcourt players available for Washington at the moment, so if one of those players were to go down with an injury, the club would be in a pretty tough spot. Given the Wizards’ limited backcourt options, Randle, who didn’t appear in a game during his earlier stint with the team, might actually get a chance to play this time around.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Suns Notes: Kokoskov, Oubre, Rivers, Ewans, Arena

December 17th, 2018 at 7:21pm CST by marksuleymanov

Over the weekend, the Suns struck a deal — which initially started as a failed three-team trade — that sent swingman Trevor Ariza to the Wizards in exchange for Kelly Oubre and Austin Rivers. The deal became official on Monday as both teams announced the move.

The Wizards reunited with a former player who has experience contending for the postseason. For the Suns, their return is more rooted in maintenance, head coach Igor Kokoskov told reporters (via Gina Mizell of The Athletic).

“We need somebody who’s gonna help us with maintaining,” he said. “A lot of games, we can’t go through the 48 minutes…We’re gonna find their roles. We definitely can use the talent and experience they have.”

Kokoskov’s comments are reflective of the Suns’ NBA-worst 6-24 record. It’s possible that Phoenix trades one or both of their new players closer to the trade deadline but in the meantime, they should help the Suns at least appear competitive.

Check out more Suns notes below:

Kokoskov is an 18-year NBA assistant coach currently in his first season as a head coach. In that short stint, the Suns have made seven different roster moves, showing the team’s state of influx. As Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic writes, Kokoskov is involved in the process of all those moves. “NBA organization is a serious organization,” Kokoskov said. “I’m always asked for opinion and my job description is to run the team and coach the team and get us ready and prepared for Minnesota.”
Jawun Evans, currently on a two-way deal with the Suns, has shown the ability to be an effective player in the G League. Ewans’ hope is to translate that success with Phoenix, where he was carved out a role off the bench, Cody Cunningham of NBA.com writes. “I just hope to bring grit to the team,” Evans said. “Somebody that on the defensive and offensive end, just to play faster and get everybody involved. Go out there and just have fun playing basketball.”
Rebekah L. Sanders of the Arizona Republic examines the Suns’ arena situation and why it might be one of the worst in the NBA. As various NBA franchise attempt to sway the NBA into new arenas, the Suns’ 26-year-old Talking Stick Resort Arena will be the oldest arena in the NBA not to be renovated or rebuilt in the past five years, Sanders writes.

Suns Trade Ariza To Wizards For Oubre, Rivers

December 17th, 2018 at 10:05am CST by marksuleymanov

DECEMBER 17: The trade is now official, with both the Suns and Wizards issuing press releases to confirm the move.

DECEMBER 15: After a hectic Friday night in which a three-team deal was scrapped, the Suns have agreed to deal Trevor Ariza to the Wizards in exchange for Kelly Oubre and Austin Rivers, John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 reports (Twitter link). The trade call with the league is scheduled for later today, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).

Last night’s nearly completed deal would have sent Ariza to the Wizards, Rivers to the Suns and allowed the Grizzlies to acquire Oubre for Wayne Selden, two second-round picks, and one other player. The confusion came over the identity of that other player as the Grizzlies believed they were dealing MarShon Brooks while the Suns thought Dillon Brooks was headed their way.

As we relayed in a separate story, despite the nixed deal, Phoenix and Washington remained in touch to see if an Ariza trade could be completed.

This version of an Ariza trade includes three players in the final year of their respective deals. For Ariza, the trade means the end of a brief 26-game stint in Phoenix as he signed a one-year, $15MM deal with the Suns during the 2018 offseason. Ariza averaged 9.9 PPG, 5.6 RPG, and a .379/.360/.837 shooting line for the Suns.

This marks a homecoming of sorts for Ariza as he spent two seasons with the Wizards, including perhaps his best season as a pro in 2013/14, when he averaged 14.4 PPG and 6.2 RPG with a .456/.407/.772 shooting line. Prior to this trade, we had relayed at least eight teams had expressed interest in Ariza, including the Lakers and Rockets — two teams he had previously suited up for.

During his stint in the nation’s capital, Ariza was reportedly a respected presence who, among other things, had a good impact on the team’s All-Star point guard, John Wall. At 11-18, the Wizards are 2.5 games back of the Eastern Conference’s eighth seed and will hope Ariza’s 3-and-D ability can narrow the gap.

For the NBA-worst Suns, they acquired a pair of useful assets that could possibly be used as trade chips later in the season. Rivers, 26, has been a mainstay off the Wizards’ bench, averaging 7.2 PPG and 2.4 RPG for Washington. Rivers’ shooting has taken a hit this season as his field-goal percentage (39.2%) and three-point shooting (31.1%) are his worst in several seasons.

As for Oubre, 23, he averaged a career-high 12.9 PPG in 29 games (seven starts) for the Wizards. By trading Oubre, the Wizards will create a traded player exception worth his salary ($3,208,630). Washington already had four trade exceptions, including one worth $5.45MM, as our list of outstanding TPEs shows.

Oubre is set to hit restricted free agency this upcoming summer, at which point the Suns could tender him a $4.5MM qualifying offer, ESPN’s Bobby Marks notes. Phoenix could flip Oubre before the trade deadline but cannot aggregate him with another player for salary-matching purposes.

Once the deal is completed, the Wizards’ roster will dip below the requirement of 14. Washington will need to sign another player within two weeks to get their roster count back up to the minimum.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.