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Trade rumors of Austin Rivers to the Clippers

Rumors have Doc Rivers' son Austin possibly headed on to the Clippers after he is sent to Boston in the Jeff Green trade. It's worth a shot for the Clippers, but it's not without complications.

By Steve Perrin
Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

Here are some quick thoughts on the possibility of Austin Rivers being traded to the Los Angeles Clippers.

  • By my math, the Clippers can't fit Rivers' $2.4M salary under the hard cap right now. They'd have to send out a player in the deal. That's not a showstopper, just something that would have to happen. It could be Ekpe Udoh or Chris Douglas-Roberts -- an end of the bench guy on a one year deal -- and the Clippers could send money to Boston to cover their salary.
  • That non-minimum salary for Rivers the younger would complicate the Clippers' hard-cap situation. Even with for instance CDR going out, the Clippers would be right at the doorstep of the hard cap -- too close by my math to even pick up a post buyout minimum player like potentially Andrei Kirilenko without making another move. Again, still not a showstopper -- Philadelphia is always there to take on a contract for the right price -- but just one more complication.
  • Jordan Farmar has been pretty terrible, so Rivers is probably worth a look at the relatively low cost of a second round pick -- but he's not likely to help a lot. I'm saying, don't get your hopes up.
  • The father-son thing seems like a problem to me -- but if anyone can handle it, it's Doc. For those who say "Dads coach their kids all the time" I'd submit that it's extremely rare in pro sports, and that the professional part is a significant difference. Especially with Doc being the GM, you're talking about making financial decisions that affect your child. It's not ideal. I coached my kid in AYSO for years -- but I didn't determine his salary.

He's young, he's athletic, he's got good size. He was once very highly regarded. But he's been a terrible shooter in the NBA, and that's a big problem. If he were a lockdown perimeter defender, or seemed to have the potential to be, I might feel differently. We're talking about picking up a 2012 lottery pick for the cost of a second rounder -- you probably take that chance. But there's a reason he's available.

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