Celtics have reportedly shown interest in Austin Rivers
Boston appears to be in the market to add depth at guard.
A member of the Rivers family could be making their way to Boston.
Longtime NBA guard Austin Rivers is still seeking a home and the Celtics are among those that have shown interest in him, The Boston Globe’s Gary Washburn reported.
Boston doesn’t necessarily have a pressing need for a guard, but it did part ways with one this offseason. The Celtis traded Marcus Smart, along with Danilo Gallinari and Mike Muscala, for Kristaps Porzingis and two first-round picks in June.
While the Celtics have three NBA-caliber point guards in Derrick White, Malcolm Brogdon, and Payton Pritchard, they haven’t added a guard to replace Smart’s spot on the roster this offseason. The only backcourt move Boston has made this offseason was signing 2022 second-round pick JD Davison to a two-way contract.
Rivers, who turns 31 in early August, would figure to be a depth piece for the Celtics and an end-of-the-rotation type of player. Washburn noted he’ll likely only receive a veteran minimum’s contract at this point.
Rivers has been a journeyman for much of his 11 seasons in the league, but he’s produced in some capacity with each of the seven teams he’s played for over the years. His most recent stop was in Minnesota, playing 52 games with the Timberwolves this past season after he signed a one-year deal with them in the offseason. He scored 4.9 points and 1.4 assists plus 1.6 rebounds per game, shooting 43.5 percent from the field and 35 percent from deep. He averaged 19.5 minutes per game.
Many Celtics fans likely know of Rivers because of his father, Doc, who was the head coach of the Celtics for nine seasons and helped them win an NBA title in 2008. But the younger Rivers actually had a very brief stint with the Celtics once in the past. He was traded to the Celtics from the Pelicans in the middle of the 2014-15 season in a three-team trade that saw Jeff Green get moved to the Grizzlies. However, the Celtics traded Rivers to the Los Angeles Clippers three days later, reuniting him with his father.
Rivers has averaged 8.5 points, 2.1 assists, and two rebounds per game in his career.
Boston reportedly also showed interest in veteran point guard John Wall, attending his private workout in Las Vegas earlier in July. While Wall has told teams he’s willing to take on a backup role, scouts believed he was “uneven” and that he could’ve been in better shape, according to Washburn.
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