In the words of John Reid of the Times-Picayune, the New Orleans Hornets‘ long-term plan is for Austin Rivers to become an "attacking caliber point guard that is able to beat defenders off the dribble, create his own shot and defend with high intensity."
In order to accomplish that, the Hornets are having him work the point in summer league games and practices.
"For most of the summer we’re going to try to play him as the point guard and put the ball in his hands and see how he can run a team," said assistant coach James Borrego, who is in charge of the Hornets’ summer league team.
"He’s growing every day, learning the position. We’re putting him in different sets to see where he is best. But overall he’s shown us that he can create his own shot, get to the rim and has a good mid-range game, and he’s coachable."
The only thing standing between Rivers and the starting point guard job is Greivis Vasquez, who is fully capable of putting up some competition. Should Rivers secure the job, he could post decent fantasy numbers as a rookie.
– Tom Carpenter