Austin Rivers Says He Spoke to Celtics' Brad Stevens About Potential Contract
Free agent shooting guard Austin Rivers revealed on The Bill Simmons Podcast that he spoke with Boston Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens about joining the team.
"I had a great talk with Brad actually like a week ago," Rivers told Simmons (h/t Brian Robb of Mass Live).
After Simmons brought up the possibility of Rivers joining Boston given the Celtics' need for another guard in the wake of the Marcus Smart trade, Rivers said: "That's why I called (Brad). I told him I'd love to be a part of the team. He said a lot of positive things. We'll see if that's something that will come to fruition. I've always loved Brad. I've always been a fan of him."
Rivers, who has played 11 NBA seasons, spent the 2022-23 campaign with the Minnesota Timberwolves. He averaged 4.9 points on 43.5 percent shooting (35.0 percent from three-point range), 1.6 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 19.5 minutes in 52 games.
For his career, the ex-Duke star has posted 8.5 points on 41.9 percent shooting.
The Celtics' starting backcourt is set with Derrick White and Jaylen Brown with reigning Sixth Man of the Year Malcolm Brogdon serving as the top backup. Payton Pritchard figures to see the second-most minutes off the bench among guards.
From there, it's possible that Rivers could come in and be the team's fifth guard. As Robb noted, none of the remaining guards have guaranteed deals. Svi Mykhailiuk and Dalano Banton have partially guaranteed deals, and JD Davidson and Jay Scrubb are on two-way contracts.
We'll see if something comes to fruition, but for now, the 2023-24 season is looming quickly with the Celtics' slate set to begin on Oct. 25 at the New York Knicks.
