Former 76ers Free Agency Target Holds Workout for NBA Scouts

A handful of NBA team representatives reportedly flocked to Orlando, Florida, this week to check in on the status of two free-agent veterans. According to Bleacher Report’s Chris Haynes, former Denver Nuggets reserve Austin Rivers is eyeing an NBA comeback, as is the former Washington Wizards guard John Wall.

Rivers’ name stands out from a Philadelphia 76ers perspective for multiple reasons. One reason being he’s the son of former head coach Doc Rivers. 

Two, Rivers is a player the Sixers were rumored to be interested in during one of his recent free-agency periods.

When Doc Rivers signed on with the Sixers to replace Brett Brown in 2020, the team reportedly viewed his son as one of their top priorities in free agency. Considering the obvious connection, it seemed inevitable the father-son duo would re-connect in the City of Brotherly Love after they previously worked together on the Los Angeles Clippers.

However, the elder Rivers told the New York Post months later that he encouraged the Sixers to go in a different direction, while encouraging his son to consider the New York Knicks.

“I kept telling him, ‘New York is a great place,’ ’’ Doc Rivers said. “I had a great experience there. That’s what I shared with him. It’s a tough city — in a positive way. He said, ‘What do you mean by that?’ I said, ‘It’s similar to Boston and Philly. Their fans are real. They want you to play hard, give you everything you can and play like a team.’"

At the time, Rivers wrapped up a season with the Houston Rockets. He appeared in 68 games, knocking down 36 percent of his threes and averaging nine points off the bench. While there was a potential move to Philadelphia in the cards, the veteran inked a deal with the Knicks. His run in the Big Apple would last 21 games. Later that season, he was signed and waived, eventually landing on the Denver Nuggets. 

Since then, Rivers has had a full season with the Nuggets before moving on to the Minnesota Timberwolves. Last season, Rivers played in 52 games for the Timberwolves. He averaged 35 percent from three, putting up just five points per game.

The 2023-2024 season is well underway, and Rivers remains unsigned. It appears he’s hopeful that will soon change, as ten to fifteen teams reportedly checked him out this week. Would the Sixers potentially take a look at Rivers now that they have a new head coach in place? Don’t count on it at all.

Recently, the veteran forward expressed his disappointment in the Sixers’ organization for the way they handled their playoff exit in 2023. 

Specifically, he admittedly felt the team did his father “dirty” by cutting ties with him two years too early. While the public consensus believes the Sixers made the right move by moving on from Rivers, replacing him with former Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse, Austin Rivers understandably didn’t agree with the call.

There might’ve been a potential Rivers-Sixers partnership in the works in the past, but a comeback for the former 10th overall pick is unlikely to happen on the Sixers.