NBA PM: Austin Rivers Has Work to Do
Future Duke Blue Devils guard Austin Rivers was all smiles as he stood outside of the visitors’ locker room at Madison Square Garden. His father Doc—who once played home games in the historic building—had just coached the Celtics passed the Knicks in the first round of the NBA Playoffs. As celebrities, cheerleaders and pro athletes filed by, basketball reporters tried to get some face time with one of the top recruits in the country. After all, it should be the first of many meetings if everything goes as planned.
But in the midst of the happy hand shaking, one passer by couldn’t resist deflating the teenager.
"What are you talking about?" Doc yelled while being shuffled from one interview to another. "What the hell did you do?"
Austin quickly snapped back, "I’m talking about how I can beat you in basketball," but Doc’s point had already been made: Notoriety doesn’t equal accomplishment.
People know the younger Rivers for two reasons. He’s Doc’s son and he was one heck of a high school basketball player at Winter Park high school in Florida. But what people didn’t get to see in the euphoria of the Celtics’ series-clinching win is just how busy this young man is. He rarely gets to see his father, who travels and works in another state, and Rivers is still trying to finish high school while preparing for collegiate athletics and academics.
"This is my weekend off, getting to go to New York to see my dad," Rivers told HOOPSWORLD. "I haven’t been home in like eight weeks, so right now I’m just kind of resting my body a little bit and then I’ll get right back at it because summer is going to be real crazy.
"I don’t get to see [Doc] that much because both of our schedules collide," he continued. "Whenever I get to see him I get real happy. It’s real nice."
And even when they do get together, there’s usually throngs of players, reporters and coaches who want to give their two cents on Austin’s future.
"They always tease my dad," he said of the Celtics players. "Paul [Pierce] said Kansas. Kansas was one of my finals [options]. Rasheed [Wallace], when he played for [the Celtics] hated me because he went to North Carolina. It’s all fun and games, but they still tease my dad about Duke because Duke is the most-hated team in college basketball. To me, it’s the best school though.
"I didn’t want to be that target," he continued. "I just chose based on what was best for me. I didn’t worry about most-hated or any of that attention. I just chose for me."
Rivers has the same approach with his academics. Many athletes just pick a major that fits with their practice and game schedule, but Austin already has an idea of what he wants to do when he’s done with basketball.
"I want to do something with broadcasting, maybe something like that," he said. "I like communications. I’m really good at speaking in front of the camera. I’m not scared of voicing my opinion, but I’m smart with my words too. I love the game of basketball, so that’s a post career that I would like to do after college, the NBA and stuff like that."
Of course, as Doc would point out, that’s a long ways down the road. Austin hasn’t played a minute of NCAA hoops, let alone NBA ball. But for once it’s nice to speak with a talented, young star who isn’t banking on NBA millions. For now, at least, Rivers isn’t a superstar athlete. He’s a high school student, who’s running out of study time.
"I got exams too," he concluded. "I still have to go to school. I still have to do my work. People don’t think I do, but my school doesn’t take it easy. I still have a lot of work to do."
That’s for sure.
{AUTHOR_BOX}Walsh to Oversee Next Steps?
Under Donnie Walsh, the Pacers lost in the first round of the playoffs four consecutive times from 1988-1989 to 1992-1993. It wasn’t the greatest playoff streak ever, but Indiana was able to capitalize on the experienced they gained and made it to the conference finals in five of the next seven seasons.
"It always is [a good experience]," Walsh told HOOPSWORLD before watching the Knicks, his current team, get eliminated by the Celtics in the first round. "Any team I’ve had, it’s helped us no matter what people think… It starts to make younger players realize, woah, you’ve got to be different."
Walsh was reading the writing on the wall when he made that statement: New York was destined for a first-round exit. But if he didn’t seem too discouraged, it might be because Walsh knows this season was one step in a greater process—a plan he should continue if New York Post beat writer Marc Berman turns out to be right.
Berman is reporting that Walsh will imminently sign a two-year extension to remain team president of the Knicks.
"They’re just trying up some of the loose ends," one source told Berman.
And because Walsh is coming back, coach Mike D’Antoni’s job appears to be safe as well, according to Berman’s sources.
So thanks to some continuity following the team’s first playoff appearance since 2004, the Knicks now have a chance to take the kind of steps that the Pacers did under Walsh.
"Absolutely," Walsh said. "We did it twice [in Indiana] and it’s exactly the same thing. We’re building a team… I think we should have an idea of how good you are. I did have an idea of that and the playoffs have confirmed it."
Portland’s Pressing Decisions
By Jason Fleming
With the Portland Trail Blazers’ third consecutive first-round playoff defeat at the hand of the Dallas Mavericks last night in six games, the team has some definite issues they need to address.
With a recent extension, Coach Nate McMillan is not one of them, which can’t be said for other first-round losers whose coaches seem to be on the chopping block.
The good news is 10 players already have guaranteed contracts for next season (whenever that may begin); the bad news is none of them are point guards. The Blazers hold a $7.8 million team option on starter Andre Miller, which they must make a decision on by the end of June.
After Miller, Portland has the option of making three players restricted free agents by issuing them Qualifying Offers of varying amounts by June 30th: oft-injured center Greg Oden ($8.8 million), point guard Patty Mills ($1.2 million), and big man Chris Johnson ($1.0 million) [note: Johnson has a nonguaranteed deal for 2011-12]. Johnson played fairly well late in the season and the playoffs, giving good rest to star LaMarcus Aldridge and center Marcus Camby, so keeping him at that price could be a good deal. Mills is a glue player in the locker room and well appreciated around the city. And Oden, the top pick in the 2007 NBA Draft? Portland has indicated all along they will make the offer, even though he has played just 82 games in four seasons. If Portland opts not to issue any of these players Qualifying Offers, they will be unrestricted free agents.
Keeping all of them may not make sense, not with another first-round draft pick coming in, plus they also have the rights to Spanish swingman Victor Claver.
Then, of course, they can make trades, and an evaluation of who they would like to move is likely already underway.
What Portland really needs is two things: frontcourt depth and another point guard Coach McMillan trusts to play more minutes than are given to Mills (well, and better health for everyone). They already have $75.9 million committed for the 2011-12 season to 13 players (including Miller, plus a $1 million cap hit for waiving Ryan Gomes last June), well into luxury tax territory (Johnson and Earl Barron both are fully non-guaranteed). Four players – Aldridge, Gerald Wallace, Camby, and Brandon Roy, make $10.5 million per season or greater. Do the Blazers get aggressive with trades?
Do they stand relatively pat and hope good health finally comes their way? Do they try to make a free agency splash if cap exceptions exist in the new CBA? All of these are questions Portland has to starting putting a plan around addressing in the coming weeks. One thing is for sure – the franchise is not happy with another first-round exit.
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