Austin Rivers touted his services to the Boston Celtics
Austin Rivers has offered his services to the Boston Celtics for the upcoming season. Boston has an open roster spot heading into training camp after Marcus Smart was traded to the Memphis Grizzlies, leaving three senior point guards in the rotation.
When speaking on "The Bill Simmons Podcast," Rivers made the revelation and admitted that he was the one to call Brad Stevens. Rivers also noted how he "has always" been a fan of the Celtics President of Basketball Operations.
“I had a great talk with Brad (Stevens) actually like a week ago,” Rivers said. “That’s why I called him because I’d love to be a part of it. I’d love to be part of the team. He said a lot of positive things. We’ll see if that’s something that comes to fruition, but I’ve always loved Brad. I’ve always been a fan of him.”
Boston's guard rotation appears to be set. Rivers would be joining the Celtics to assume a marginal role, similar to Blake Griffin last season. Boston also has two guards on two-way contracts who could step into the rotation when required. However, Rivers' veteran leadership and experience could prove valuable throughout the season and into the postseason, where two-way players aren't eligible.
Entering the summer, Boston's biggest areas of need were at the wing positions. The Celtics added Oshae Brissett, Jordan Walsh, and Svi Mykhailiuk over the summer, thus eliminating that problem. Stevens also acquired Neemias Queta on a two-way contract, adding depth behind Robert Williams, Al Horford, Kristaps Porzingis and Luke Kornet.
Therefore, an additional guard could make sense, considering the depth at every other position. Whether the Celtics choose to bring in another guard and whether that guard is Rivers will remain to be seen. After all, Stevens could follow a similar plan to last season and keep the final roster spot open to provide the team with flexibility in the first few months of the NBA calendar.
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