Los Angeles Clippers: Grading The Offseason

Jul 21, 2015; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Clippers players pose with jerseys at press conference at Staples Center. From left: Branden Dawson (22), DeAndre Jordan (6), Austin Rivers (25), coach Doc Rivers and Josh Smith (5), Cole Aldrich (45), Paul Pierce (34) and Wesley Johnson (33). Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports /

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May 8, 2015; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Clippers guard Austin Rivers (25) controls the ball against the Houston Rockets during the second half in game three of the second round of the NBA Playoffs. at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports /

Re-Signing Austin Rivers

Look, I get it. Austin Rivers has long been seen as a joke. Even in my own household, a long-running joke since his days with the Pelicans involved me and my roommates calling him Austin “Stop The Bleeding” Rivers, mostly for his incompetence and poor shooting off the bench.

But based on what we saw from the head coach’s son in the playoffs, I’d argue that re-signing him to a two-year, $6.4 million deal is hardly nepotism; young Rivers earned his extension.

In the playoffs, Rivers was a tad inconsistent, but he helped the Clippers win a few games they would have lost otherwise. He averaged 8.4 points per game for the entire postseason while shooting 37.1 percent from three-point range. If the Clippers can get that kind of production out of him all season, they’ll be in great shape moving forward.

Rivers committing a crucial turnover late in Game 2 of the conference semifinals (complete with Kevin Harlan’s “HERE COMES AUSTIN RIVERS!“) will forever be one of my favorite NBA playoff moments. But his 16-point performance in a Game 4 win over the Spurs and his 25-point supernova in a Game 3 win against Houston showed that this 22-year-old might develop into a serviceable NBA player under his father’s guidance.

Grade: B

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