The LA Clippers entered this summer with a number of question marks regarding their roster, but on Thursday afternoon, guard Austin Rivers informed ClutchPoints that he will opt into the final year of his three-year deal, which will pay him just over $12.6 million for the 2018-19 season.
Rivers was expected to enter last season as a scoring punch off the Clippers bench, but devastating injuries to a number of players like Patrick Beverley (knee), Milos Teodosic (foot), and Danilo Gallinari (glute, hand) forced him into a significant role as a starter and ball-handler for LA. It took him a couple games to get his wind following a bout with mono in the offseason as well as a glute strain in the early parts of the preseason, but he became a consistent weapon for LA.
In his sixth season out of Duke, Rivers averaged 15.1 points, 2.4 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 1.2 steals, and 2.2 three-pointers per game on 42.4 percent shooting from the field and 37.8 percent from beyond the arc. He also set a career-high in points against the Houston Rockets on December 22, putting up 36 points with six three-pointers and seven assists. He then topped that career-high with 38 points one night later against the Memphis Grizzlies.
Considering the injuries and trades the team went through, the belief around the Clippers locker room the entire year and none more than towards the end of the season is that they certainly were a playoff team and possibly been a top five seed with the way the rest of the Western Conference shaped out. If they bring the same core back next year, it'll be interesting to see how the Clippers fare should Danilo Gallinari and Patrick Beverley maintain their health.
Rivers tells ClutchPoints that he believes that there's something to build towards in Los Angeles before hitting free agency next summer in 2019. Opting in, however, also makes Rivers a player on an expiring contract and someone who could be packaged in a trade for a higher draft pick or a guy like San Antonio Spurs forward Kawhi Leonard, who the Clippers have inquired about over the last couple of weeks.
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