[montauriush4Participant]

My uncle is a nba scout for the Grizzlies and he told me that teams are looking at Austin Rivers as a pg because they see him having better success at the pg. When you look at his tape where he calm down and pass the ball, he is a really good passer.

I see Austin as a Russell Westbrook type not as athletic or fast as Russell but a pg who can score and will get you 6 or 7 assists a game. He is little bit of a better scorer than Russell.

I would compare Austin Rivers to Stephen Curry but Austin is quicker, more athletic, and has a killer instinct that Stephen Curry dont have

[Steven]

 im pretty sure we all saw steph curry have a killer instinct in college. 

[UNCbasketballbumParticipant]

Austin Rivers has as much of a chance at averaging 7 assists a game in the NBA as I do. 

[M-DYMESParticipant]

I’ll put money on that there is no way Rivers will be a better scorer than Westbrook in the NBA.  I also think Steph Curry is quicker than Rivers and does have just as much of a killer instinct as Rivers.  

[hiphopismylifeParticipant]

I don’t know if i’d agree with Westbrook because Rivers is not that kind of pure, strong athlete. He has great quickness out of the triple threat and off the dribble, but outside of those areas he will not overwhelm guys at the pro level like Westbrook can.

I liked the Steph Curry comparison when he was younger, his first two years of high school. He was smaller and not nearly as quick or athletic, but was a much more poised and patient player. He really relied on the 3 back then. At that point I saw him turning into a pg down the line. But i’d say while he’s gotten more aggressive, he’s regressed in regards to his decision making.

Now I’d call him a Gilbert Arenas type. Similar size, tools, and both have tremendous dedication. Both have great quickness, a sharp handle, and no conscience from the outside. And Gilbert declared with a great deal of skepticism the way Austin is.

Whether he develops into that kind of force is a different story. I know he’s determined to prove doubters wrong as well

[JoeWolf1]

 Steph played point guard his last season at Davidson and worked with Chris Paul before the draft because of his NBA connections.  I think he was further along in his transition from a 2 to a 1, but Rivers has the same connections, Doc could pull some strings and he could be working out with a number of NBA PG’s.  Still, I think he’s a year or two away from being where Steph was as a rookie PG.

That being said, I like him as a 2, he’s longer, stronger and a better athlete than Steph.  I like him as a 2 guard who can distribute a little.  He’s 6’4” but with his wingspan he plays about 6’6” which is the desired size for an NBA SG.

[UNCbasketballbumParticipant]

 The comparisons to Russell Westbrook are ludicrous.  Rivers is nowhere near the athlete that Westbrook is.  Westbrook has world class hops, quickness, speed and finishing ability with great strength.  Rivers was very underwhelming at finishing at the rim in college.  

[SwatLakeCityParticipant]

With 4 potential lottery teams teams needing a PG this year (Utah, Portland, Phoenix and New Orleans), it wouldn’t surprise me if Rivers is picked by one of those 4 teams to play that position even though that’s not the position he played in college. Especially considering how weak this draft class is at PG. I wouldn’t recommend it, but it wouldn’t surprise me if it happens. Lillard and Marshall are the only two point guards with their stock in the lottery, but only late lottery. I don’t even consider Wroten and Rivers as PG’s yet. But because of so many lottery potential teams, all 4 of them might be picked in the lottery and expected to serve as the team’s point guard. This also means that a few of those point guard prospect might be picked a little early than their stock would suggest. We might see Lillard and/or Marshall picked in the top 10. All I can say is I hope my Jazz don’t pick or even consider Wroten or Rivers as their point guard.

[TheDagger40Participant]

If the Jazz needs a PG i think they’d be better off drafting Marshall. He;s accustomed to playing with big men in UNC and with the Depth of Big Men in Utah, he’ll have an easy time being there.

As for Rivers, I love his offensive game. He great handles for a 2 guard, and good shot as well. He still needs to gain about 15-20lbs of muscle. I find nothing wrong with him being a 6-4 SG (because Wade is too), but the difference between them is like 30lbs of muscle.

I only watched a couple of his games. How’s his defense? On a rating of 1-10, 1 being Monta Ellis and 10 being Iguodala how good is he?

[PulseGlazerParticipant]

I’m really concerned that Rivers is just a bench player with too much hype at this point.

[UNCbasketballbumParticipant]

I’d put Rivers at a 4 now.  He really came into Duke not ever having to play defense.  Give Coach K credit because at the end of the season he became a solid defender.  He’ll never be Scottie Pippen, but he was giving better effort by season’s end.  With his quickness, he could be a quality defender.

[Future_Scout]

 i think rivers is a combo-guard. he’ll play pg and sg and if he does one extremely well he’ll stay at that position.

 if he doesn’t do well at either, he’ll be a 6th man

[akhan786Participant]

I really like the idea of him going to Portland. But imo he’s going to have to ride the pine for at most 2 years because his body and mind aren’t mature yet.

Stephen Curry came into the league after 4 years in college…this kid is still a teenager. He’ll need some time to grow as a player. I just fear people are going to expect of him too much too early and will label him a bust in his rookie year when I think he won’t show who he truly is as a player until his third year in the league.

[HandDownManDown13Participant]

 I think the Monta comparisons are good. Rivers is a score first combo guard that could develop as a playmaker with the right coach. Mark Jackson had Ellis averaging about 6 assists before the trade this year. 

[M-DYMESParticipant]

I’m diggin the Jamal Crawford comparisons I’ve seen.  He’s a good ball handler with decent court vision to the point where he can run the offense at times if need be.  He’s a shooter, but a bit of a chucker.  He can penetrate well, but not like a Wade or Ellis IMo.  Not a great defender and not specifically skilled in more areas than being a scorer. 

[TallmanNYCParticipant]

 The kid shot 66% from the line. That screams problem to me for a shooting guard who is going to have to make his living shooting jump shots. The mechanics are poor and the result is poor shots. Kyrie Irving shot 57% from 2 point range his one year in college. Austin shot 47%. There is a world of difference between those numbers. This guy just didn’t play winning basketball this year. I’m afraid he came out because of fear that he would be exposed by another mediocre season of college ball. The hype is still there (see how we all talk about him). If he goes in the top ten, it will be all based on hype not on his production in college. 

I really like the Jamal Crawford comparison. If he ends up that good, it will be a success for whichever team picks him. But I also have to think that he can learn to play some PG as I suspect his head is a little better screwed on than Jamal’s. 

[dolla130Participant]

 I like the curry comparison very much curry didn’t come out of college as a pg and I think rivers has some pg skills not elite but he can slide down and play some pg exp in the nba and be somewhat succeful I think at the pg he would be able to get his shot easier and make a few passes and as far as curry having a killer instinct, shit rivers does also he hit big shots in every game they played this year and never shyed away from the competition exp on nights when the rest of his teammates looked outclassed, and he’ll if Jeremy Lin,westbrook, curry and jameer Nelson can play or learn to play the pg why can’t rivers, Gilbert chuck whatever arenas was a point guard,  I’m not saying he will be a great pg but a decent one exp in a guard dominant league filled with combo PGs 

[Johnny Chill]

He better improve his strength and ability to finish in the lane. His best atribute is his quick first step, but he cant finish with his left (like most NBA point guards), he doesnt finish above the rim (like Rose or Westbrook), he doesnt  finish in the lane with a variety of shooting angles (like Nash or Irving), or has mastered the floater (like Parker).

I see so many college players block his layup attempts its ridiculous. Imagine what NBA shot blockers are going to do to him.

[TallmanNYCParticipant]

 The comparison to Curry is tough because Curry was just leagues upon leagues better than Rivers when he came out. Curry did everything for his team. He shot the ball on nearly 40% of his teams possession. Crazy! Everyone in the building knew he had to shoot. Everyone knew he was going to shoot. But they still couldn’t stop him. He shot higher percentages than Rivers from everywhere on the court. And we aren’t just talking about when Curry was a junior. Curry shot 40% from three as a freshman. 50% from two. And 86% from the line. Just another class of shooter. And Curry isn’t even a pure shooter. These are tough, high volume create your own shots that Curry was knocking down. 

Lin shot 60% from 2 point range his senior year. But his freshman year was the only year he shot under 50%. He actually shot a lot like Rivers (against much worse competition obviously). But again, Lin shot 80% from the line. 

Rivers has to get better. He is a scorer who right now doesn’t score all that well. I think he is going to get a lot stronger. Great frame and size. Great handle. But there is that hitch in his shot. Problems! There is a good chance he settles in at the NBA level as a 40% shooter. 

[mgreener_34Participant]

 Every time I watch Rivers play I feel like I’m watching Rodney Stuckey. Both can take it hard to the hoop, and both can play a little point guard. Right now Stuckey is averaging 16/4/3 while shooting around .36% from three. I feel like Austin will have around those numbers. Of coarse Rivers has a better isolation game, and focuses more on the perimeter, but I could see them having the same type of career. 

 

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