I don’t want to pre-judge our FO, who have been pretty capable, but for me it’s usually a red flag when I see another team scrambling for whatever recognizable names they can find. So I feel like I should apply the same logic here.
The reality is, he’s 31 and we should be able to get a comparable level player who’s younger and cheaper long term.
We’re not talking about a core player, we’re talking about a Shane Larkin / Brad Wanamaker-level player. A good FO can grab an Austin Rivers-level player off the street.
First_Negotiation_80
Listening to his podcast, lots of the good vet wisdom you’d want for an out of the rotation minimum guy. Fine addition and has enough juice to play in the regular season when other guys are out.
stokedlog
I like Austin Rivers on the minimum. When healthy he is a great 7-10 man in a rotation that can start for a couple of games if need be due to injuries. At the same time he understands he isn’t the same guy who was the top HS recruit in the country and I think would be good averaging 10 minutes a game.
He has ties to Tatum with Duke and I think he has more in the tank compared to Blake.
CatGatherer
Meh.
bagpiper123456
I said it before, I’ll say it again: Hard pass. Austin Rivers is not useful to us on the court; he is a little below average as a shooter and he is no longer an above average defender. However much of a “dog” he is, he is no longer able to rise to the occasion.
He’s also not that useful in the locker room: he may have attitude and may push players, but he cannot serve well as a mentor or guide for other players because he’s just not that successful a player. He’d also probably end up preventing JB, JT and Al from being the leaders they need to be.
I just don’t see a role for him that works well for us, and with other players out there like John Wall, Isaiah Thomas, etc. we have a number of options who would be better on the floor, in the locker room, or both.
5 Comments
I don’t like it tbh.
I don’t want to pre-judge our FO, who have been pretty capable, but for me it’s usually a red flag when I see another team scrambling for whatever recognizable names they can find. So I feel like I should apply the same logic here.
The reality is, he’s 31 and we should be able to get a comparable level player who’s younger and cheaper long term.
We’re not talking about a core player, we’re talking about a Shane Larkin / Brad Wanamaker-level player. A good FO can grab an Austin Rivers-level player off the street.
Listening to his podcast, lots of the good vet wisdom you’d want for an out of the rotation minimum guy. Fine addition and has enough juice to play in the regular season when other guys are out.
I like Austin Rivers on the minimum. When healthy he is a great 7-10 man in a rotation that can start for a couple of games if need be due to injuries. At the same time he understands he isn’t the same guy who was the top HS recruit in the country and I think would be good averaging 10 minutes a game.
He has ties to Tatum with Duke and I think he has more in the tank compared to Blake.
Meh.
I said it before, I’ll say it again: Hard pass. Austin Rivers is not useful to us on the court; he is a little below average as a shooter and he is no longer an above average defender. However much of a “dog” he is, he is no longer able to rise to the occasion.
He’s also not that useful in the locker room: he may have attitude and may push players, but he cannot serve well as a mentor or guide for other players because he’s just not that successful a player. He’d also probably end up preventing JB, JT and Al from being the leaders they need to be.
I just don’t see a role for him that works well for us, and with other players out there like John Wall, Isaiah Thomas, etc. we have a number of options who would be better on the floor, in the locker room, or both.