NBA Draft 2012: Doc Rivers Must Move Celtics Up in Draft to Steal Son Austin

It's not every day that a head coach has the opportunity to coach his own son in the NBA. 

But, that's exactly what might happen if Boston Celtics general manager Danny Ainge gets creative and finds a way to bring Duke guard Austin Rivers into the fold. The premise sounds crazy enough, but not to hear Rivers himself discuss it (via ESPNBoston.com's Staff):

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Austin Rivers, the son of Boston Celtics coach Doc Rivers who declared for the NBA draft this week after finishing his freshman season at Duke, says he'd love to play for Boston. 

"If that was to happen, I would love to," Rivers said Friday morning on WEEI's "Dennis & Callahan." "I would love to play for any organization in the NBA. That's my dream. It would be great. It would be different. It would be an interesting aspect just to play for my dad."

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Of course, it takes more than sentiments to make something like that happen. After all, the Celtics have the 21st and 22nd picks in June 28's draft, and Rivers is almost certainly to be taken at some point late in the lottery.

Don't count this scenario out just yet, though.

According to HOOPSWORLD's Alex Kennedy, Boston is looking to move up in the draft anyway:

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The Celtics hold the twenty-first and twenty-second picks in the first round. However, league sources believe Boston will package the picks together to move up in the draft or trade away one of the picks in a separate deal. The Celtics don’t want to bring in two rookies.

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Still, the question remains: Even if Boston could land Rivers, would it even want to? Or, is this just another fanciful scheme that makes for better headlines than basketball?

In reality, the Celtics will obviously evaluate all of their options. Even if they're interested in taking a shooting guard, they could prefer the likes of Washington's Terrence Ross or Syracuse's Dion Waiters. Rivers is by no means the only prospect who fits Boston's wishlist.

And yet, adding Rivers isn't as absurd as it may seem.

If free agent Ray Allen has indeed closed the door on a return to Boston, the Celtics need more than just another shooting guard—they need a shooter. Rivers fits that profile as well as almost anyone in the draft.

Moreover, if there are any merits to the claims that Rivers is cocky and uncoachable, there's one man who's sure to fix that in a hurry: his dad.

The other knock on the young Rivers is that he shoots too much. That might be a problem for most teams, but it's exactly what you want alongside a brilliant passer like Rajon Rondo. The last thing you need is a guy who hesitates when he's open.

Sure, it's all speculation for now.

But it's speculation that just might make sense.