So you’re saying there’s a chance?
While Austin Rivers in all likelihood will be playing for another NBA team soon, Boston Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge isn’t ruling out the possibility of the 22-year-old remaining in green. The Celtics’ reported trade with the Los Angeles Clippers — coached by Rivers’ father and former C’s head coach Doc Rivers — is not yet official.
“We’re in the process,” Ainge said Thursday on 98.5 The Sports Hub’s “Toucher and Rich.” “There’s a chance he could be in a Boston uniform. We’ll know more in the next couple of days.”
The Celtics acquired Rivers earlier this week from the New Orleans Pelicans as part of a three-team trade in which Boston sent Jeff Green to the Memphis Grizzlies. It was reported shortly after that the C’s were looking to deal Rivers, and the Clippers have since been identified as the most likely landing spot.
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“I have a lot of good memories of Austin,” said Ainge, who employed the Duke product’s father from 2004 to 2013. “He used to come around. I remember watching him when he was 12 years old here in the gym in Waltham. He was fun to watch. You could tell right then that he was going to be an NBA player, a very special player.”
Rivers, a first-round draft pick (10th overall) in 2012, averaged 7.7 points and 2.3 assists per game last season. He’s averaging 6.8 points and 2.5 assists through 35 games this season.
Thumbnail photo via Derick E Hingle/USA TODAY Sports Images
