Austin Rivers, Knicks Reportedly Agree to 3-Year, $10M Contract in Free Agency

Austin Rivers and the New York Knicks agreed to a three-year, $10 million contract, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

Ian Begley of SNY reported the final two years of the deal are not guaranteed.

Rivers averaged 8.8 points and 1.7 assists as a reserve guard for the Houston Rockets in 2019-20. He shot 42.1 percent from the field and 35.6 percent from beyond the arc.

While he is not a critical member of the rotation, his decision to opt out of his contract was another setback for the Rockets, who have no shortage of fires to put out this offseason. Rivers was on a reasonable $2.4 million salary for 2019-20, leaving Houston to find a replacement with limited flexibility.

On his best night, Rivers can be a dynamic scorer. In a 129-112 win over the Sacramento Kings on Aug. 9, he shot 6-of-11 on threes en route to a 41-point game.

The 28-year-old isn't too far removed from averaging 15.1 points with the Los Angeles Clippers, either.

Perhaps not coincidentally, the Clippers won 42 games and missed the playoffs that season. They were starting to lay the groundwork to land Paul George and Kawhi Leonard.

Rivers is at his best coming off the bench, where teams can take advantage of his streaky scoring while mitigating his flaws.

He's not a dynamic playmaker, averaging 2.3 assists and 1.1 turnovers over his career, nor is he a hyper-efficient shooter who thrives away from the ball. The former Duke star has hit 34.8 percent of his long-range attempts over eight years.

One benefit to Rivers is that he has largely remained the same player throughout his time in the NBA. That kind of consistency can be valuable as a front office builds a roster and the head coach weighs his rotations. Rivers isn't on the precipice of a breakout, but he'll still be a solid contributor even if he falls on the lower end of his 2020-21 projections.

The free-agent market had a dearth of good options at both guard positions. Rather than overspending for somebody at the top end of the class, opting for Rivers is a cost-effective play for the Knicks.

He's the second veteran to join New York's backcourt after the team confirmed the signing of Alec Burks.