Before the New Orleans Pelicans acquired Omer Asik in a trade from the Houston Rockets, it was believed the team would need to trade away guard Austin Rivers for salary purposes.
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Apparently not overly thrilled with such a sentiment, Pelicans general manager Dell Demps instead acquired multiple expiring contracts allowing him to keep Rivers on the roster while acquiring Asik. Does that mean Austin Rivers will be staying with the franchise moving forward?
It certainly sounds like that as Nola.com believes Austin Rivers is still highly thought of by the New Orleans Pelicans front office.
"With Rivers showing improvement last season as a second-year guard, the Pelicans still consider Rivers a valuable asset, according to sources. It apparently turned out to be a deciding factor on why they didn’t trade him, despite listening to offers."
A former No. 10 pick, Rivers has yet to live up to his lofty expectations though there was improvement, especially late during the season. Was that enough to force the hand of the Pelicans in effort to keeping him? Such is a possibility, especially given his bloodline.
Rivers is said to have worked hard on his game this offseason and will only have to fend off rookie Russ Smith for backup point guard duties. Of course, Smith is known for his play on the defensive end which could be more valuable to head coach Monty Williams.
Thus it’s no sure thing Austin Rivers will be in the New Orleans Pelicans rotation though he seems likely to remain on their roster, at least for now.