I think Rivers and Waiters are best served as 6th men in the NBA, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. They are cut of the mold of a Ginobili/Harden/Terry type where they can come in and be more of a focal part of the offence and provide a spark off the bench.  Harden was a 6th man taken 3rd overall and it’s clearly working out for that team. 

Really interesting stuff…

I’m glad for him, he’s certainly a lotto talent. It would be a lot of fun to see him on the Suns. He could get lost on a team like Houston or Portland though, they’re so guard heavy.

As a suns fan I would like to see him slip to them but I figure he’s going before us.  I think he would fit nicely with Blazers if Crawford is out of there as he has hinted at.

Moot point to get a promise 10-14. I think there’s a strong possibility he goes 7 or 8.

I think Rivers is looking in at 6-8. As a GSW fan I hope its 7th.

As long as there is no surprises, It all depends if Portland wants to team up Rivers with possibly a Zeller or go Drummond (if there) or Beal and team him with Lillard….either way I thik Portland wants a PG and a Center cuz isnt Felton a FA too

 this is really fun and adds some real intrigue leading up to the draft.  we discussed Waiters…and I think he is going to Toronto or New Orleans.  Rivers, I really think if he has a promise, its from GSW.

I totally agree with zachb, if there is a promise, its from a team inside of the top 10.  Promising guys like Rivers and Waiters selections outside the top 10 doesnt make much sense when they can be snagged before that.

I am not saying there is a whole lot of logic behind this, because there probably isnt.  Especially in concerns with GSW.  I do think they are looking to ramp up the West Coast style offense.  It really makes little sense with Jackson being the coach…but if I had to guess, this is the team that wants him.  Looking to play him off the ball beside Curry and play Thompson a lot at the 3….plus they have Rush who can come in at 3 and Thompson moves down to 2.

Again, as with Waiters, my darkhorse is N.O.  

One thing I can almost guarantee though if these promises hold true….we will see a SG go to N.O. in this draft….because I dont believe they are optimistic about holding on to EJ.  He likely will get a big offer and it makes more sense for a better team to sign him than a rebuilding one.   I dont believe its worth their while to match and outrageous offer when he is fresh off injury.  Just build through the draft.  Davis….then try and get Rivers or Waiters, probably the best scoring guards outside of Beal potentially.

 IMO, Harden is really a starter.   Its just how it works out on OKC because Sefolosha is such a great defender and Harden really assures that the 2nd unit has offensive punch at all times.  There are not too many other teams that will have Harden coming off the bench.  It kinda worked that way for Ginobili too.  Terry on the other hand is more like Waiters and Rivers because they are basically scorers, whereas Harden and Ginobili are great ballhandlers that can really get their teammates involved.

Harden was drafted to be a star and he would be if he were on another team.  Waiters and Rivers are being drafted basically to do what Terry does….score, score, score.

 Would the Balzers dare to be jerks and take Waiters at 6 and Rivers at 11..  Then, they could demand trades for the 2 players..

Just kidding of course.  

Rivers would be great with the Suns because it would be his team from day 1.  He probably won’t fall that far though.

 8th….Rivers wont fall that far….hence the rumor of this promise.

1)  A player is only going to be promised a selection if there is a specific need at a position that is of tantamount priority.

2)  A the player being offered the promise, is promised a position that is higher than anyone else is willing to select them.

Reggie Jackson was promised a selection "if he was still on the board at 24".  Thats a great deal because all you want if you are not a lottery pick is a guaranteed contract.  If OKC loved him so much, even if he was gone by that time, they wouldve given up that 24th pick and cash or another pick to get him.

Rivers and Waiters are different because they are guaranteed lottery picks, so if they get a promise, its going to be a high pick where no one else is interested in picking them.  Its a little trickier than Jackson because if someone picks Rivers and Waiters before 14, that team obviously is in love with that player….and the team with the promise would have to make a really sweet deal to pry that player away.  

I am not surprised about these two players…..because they are either players you love or you dont….just like Jackson….they arent for every team.

Maybe I’m way off here, but I wouldn’t be surprised it it’s New Orleans. They can pair him with Anthony Davis, and not feel as much pressure to match Eric Gordon’s offer sheet from another team. I’m not saying Gordon wouldn’t be great to re-sign, I just think pairing a young big like Anthony Davis with a young guard with potential (and can score) seems to be a pretty promising future for the Hornets. 

Ive posted the Austin Rivers to GS before so maybe I can go into this.

Curry is a good shooter and does make his team better but the bad defense, injuries and sometimes bonehead mistakes at the PG are much but I still love the dude. With Rivers you get another players son to team with Curry and Klay Thompson but Rivers is twice as athletic as the two. Rivers may lack some desire at PG but Steph aint no true PG either and if they can swing Rivers to SG and protect against injury just incase for Curry its a good bet, IMO. Also, since Curry isnt a true PG with bad defense then Rivers should get you just as much since he is bigger and faster then Curry. Plus, Jerry West loves BBIQ

People scream that GS needs SFs and bigs but the team actually needs good bigs. Ekpe Udoh and Brandan Wright arent going to cut it. Sullinger is the safe pick and I think will be decent but in the end wont he just be a clone of David Lee; a bad defensive PF who can rebound?

Actually NO has made it known that they want another big man with the 10th pick. They are very very interested in Sully if he is available that late

 as I said in my post, it doesnt sound like it makes much sense, but not only do I think that Golden State loves Rivers, but I think they had their eye on him in college and really wanted to unload Ellis and keep Rivers in mind for the draft.

as far as N.O. I have been saying here for a long time that Sully is a great fit there and thats who they should take, but you cannot for one second overlook EJ’s RFA status.  If they are confident they can keep him, then Sully or PJIII is someone they will go with.  If not, they want someone to replace EJ….no if, ands, buts about it.

if you get enamored with all these mocks, then its hard to envision Rivers being a lottery lock, but I believe he is in NBA circles.  I am almost willing to bet he is the 2nd SG off the board.   Although I may prefer Lamb or Ross over him, I dont think they will go before Rivers.

 Rivers won’t go past New Orleans or Portland.

 if Barnes is at 7 hypothetically, then GSW will trade down for Rivers if indeed there was a promise.   they dont give up a chance to get free cash or a free player AND still get their man.

I don’t like Rivers and Phoenix is my favorite team, but he’d be a good fit there.

Last week, before all these so called "promises" most of us had Waiters and Rivers 14-20.

I wouldn’t put it past their agent or marketing to spread these false rumours to help push their stock value up – maybe into the lottery…..

I personally dont’ believe that these 2 players have been "promised" by a team this far out from the draft. I could understand maybe a few of the top 3 or 4 teams picking giving promises but a team that picks 10-14 ?

you could be right, if you read here, you will see that some of us have the same theory.  it is not unusual to get a guarantee from a team this far out though, what else is there left to see?  particularly with the combine being over.  most teams know what these guys can do.  I would likely agree more if these were straight outta HS players, but every player who has a high profile has been thoroughly viewed.

say the rumors of the promises are false….I dont see how it catapults these two players any higher.  in the past few weeks both of them have been heavily mentioned for the lottery and I think both will end up in the lottery regardless of the promises or not.