Commentary on Rivers from today's front page

[weezie]

"Does Austin Rivers have a lottery guarantee? He’s a fool if he believes it.....The only team he should trust is Boston, and that’s only because his dad, Old Man Rivers, works there."

I may be reading this in an entirely different light but suggesting that Austin Rivers is a "fool" if he believes some supposed comment on his draft chances sounds pretty harsh to me. Adding the dismissive "Old Man Rivers" was merely petty. Doc Rivers encouraged his son to come to Duke. Doc cheered for Duke and tried to get to as many games as possible and considering his day job, Doc deserves more respect that an idiotic toss-off from an anonymous blog poster.

Here at DBR we are encouraged to embrace all our former players, even those who left the program in less than stellar fashion. Maybe I should name a few who I feel never measured up but that's not productive nor is it kind.

Austin Rivers was the most talented player on our court last year and he is singularly responsible for one of the greatest victories in the history of the Duke-unc rivalry.

I'm proud of him. I know I am going to miss him.

[grit74]

"Does Austin Rivers have a lottery guarantee? He’s a fool if he believes it.....The only team he should trust is Boston, and that’s only because his dad, Old Man Rivers, works there."

I may be reading this in an entirely different light but suggesting that Austin Rivers is a "fool" if he believes some supposed comment on his draft chances sounds pretty harsh to me. Adding the dismissive "Old Man Rivers" was merely petty. Doc Rivers encouraged his son to come to Duke. Doc cheered for Duke and tried to get to as many games as possible and considering his day job, Doc deserves more respect that an idiotic toss-off from an anonymous blog poster.

Here at DBR we are encouraged to embrace all our former players, even those who left the program in less than stellar fashion. Maybe I should name a few who I feel never measured up but that's not productive nor is it kind.

Austin Rivers was the most talented player on our court last year and he is singularly responsible for one of the greatest victories in the history of the Duke-unc rivalry.

I'm proud of him. I know I am going to miss him.

same here.

[Zeb]

DBR usually does a great job with their comments, avoiding the hyperbole and snark that often dominates sports sites. But they missed the mark here. Who has more firsthand experience with the NBA and how it works: the Rivers family, or Julio/Boswell? Is anyone in the 2012 draft going to get better, more objective advice than Austin Rivers will receive from his Dad? Austin's the last guy DBR needs to be concern trolling.

[Newton_14]

I honestly did not read it that way at all. I guess I can see how some could read it as snark, but I did not take it that way. I do think teams promise to take kids with pick x, and then go a total different route once decision time comes, so the advice itself is sound. Of course Austin knows this, as does Doc and K.

I think Austin will go in the lottery, maybe higher than some think. I would not be shocked if the Hornets take him with that 10th pick.

[subzero02]

I took the dbr's comment as a criticism of pre-draft gamesmanship...

[oldnavy]

DBR usually does a great job with their comments, avoiding the hyperbole and snark that often dominates sports sites. But they missed the mark here. Who has more firsthand experience with the NBA and how it works: the Rivers family, or Julio/Boswell? Is anyone in the 2012 draft going to get better, more objective advice than Austin Rivers will receive from his Dad? Austin's the last guy DBR needs to be concern trolling.

Well... maybe. Doc is still his dad, and as a dad sometimes it is hard to objective with your own kids, so.... but I get your point, he is in probably the best postion to get the best advice as anyone in the draft. Doc and K, two outstanding sources for info....

BTW, I love how Doc handled Austin when he was at Duke, at least in the public eye. He was there as a "dad", not to coach him... must have been hard to do. Kudo's to him for that.

[moonpie23]

.

BTW, I love how Doc handled Austin when he was at DukTy at least in the public eye. He was there as a "dad", not to coach him... must have been hard to do. Kudo's to him for that.

coach drew could learn a thing or two.

[OldPhiKap]

coach drew could learn a thing or two.

You stole the words right off my keyboard.

Doc has seemed very supportive of K and Duke; if he had any issues he kept them behind closed doors. Compare/contrast Mr. Drew.

I enjoyed Austin's year and was glad he became part of the Duke family (and hit a legendary shot). I think we'll be very good this upcoming year too.

Game on for us, good luck at the next level for Austin.



(as to the op-- I did not read the article the way you did although can see your point. I think "Old Man Rivers" is a clumsy attempt to reference the ol' Kerns/Hammerstein song from the '20's and is not a slap at Doc. I also think the "he's a fool if he believes it" refers more to the shady/soft promises of promoters and scouts, not a comment on Austin's intelligence. I could be wrong on all counts, though, in which case I agree with you 100%).

[yancem]

You stole the words right off my keyboard.

Doc has seemed very supportive of K and Duke; if he had any issues he kept them behind closed doors. Compare/contrast Mr. Drew.

I enjoyed Austin's year and was glad he became part of the Duke family (and hit a legendary shot). I think we'll be very good this upcoming year too.

Game on for us, good luck at the next level for Austin.



(as to the op-- I did not read the article the way you did although can see your point. I think "Old Man Rivers" is a clumsy attempt to reference the ol' Kerns/Hammerstein song from the '20's and is not a slap at Doc. I also think the "he's a fool if he believes it" refers more to the shady/soft promises of promoters and scouts, not a comment on Austin's intelligence. I could be wrong on all counts, though, in which case I agree with you 100%).

That's exactly how I interpreted the comments. I've been reading this website from since very nearly its beginning and the characterizations the op is inferring seem pretty out of character for Julio and Boswell. Sometimes their humor and reference get lost in translation. Especially in this case if you are too young to catch the Kerns/Hammerstein reference. Some comments shouldn't be taken to literally.

[Starter]

I don't think there's any way Old Man Rivers was a slight, for what it's worth. I do disagree in that no NBA team would ever make an empty promise to Doc Rivers' kid, their name would be mud. If Rivers is there when Team X drafts, they're going to take him.

[Billy Dat]

I also felt a little put-off when I read that write-up yesterday but I declined to start a thread...now that one has started, though...

-I agree that the Rivers family is about as inside-the-NBA as you can get. I don't see them getting duped in the draft process. I think Doc is too respected for anyone to deliberately screw over his kid - agents have to worry about their clients playing for him, owners/GMs/team execs may want to someday hire him, etc.

-There seems to be a thinly veiled contempt for Austin that comes through a lot of people's writing, and it often comes from people who have more access to the program than most of us. Obviously, rumor mongering and conjecture are verboten around here, so maybe we'll never know why the kid was so polarizing. It seems to go beyond his ball hogging, which it seems to me was clearly encouraged by the coaches otherwise he wouldn't have been playing the minutes he was. But, now I guess we're treading over old ground.

Knock 'em dead, Subzero.

[sagegrouse]

I also felt a little put-off when I read that write-up yesterday but I declined to start a thread...now that one has started, though...

-I agree that the Rivers family is about as inside-the-NBA as you can get. I don't see them getting duped in the draft process. I think Doc is too respected for anyone to deliberately screw over his kid - agents have to worry about their clients playing for him, owners/GMs/team execs may want to someday hire him, etc.

-There seems to be a thinly veiled contempt for Austin that comes through a lot of people's writing, and it often comes from people who have more access to the program than most of us. Obviously, rumor mongering and conjecture are verboten around here, so maybe we'll never know why the kid was so polarizing. It seems to go beyond his ball hogging, which it seems to me was clearly encouraged by the coaches otherwise he wouldn't have been playing the minutes he was. But, now I guess we're treading over old ground.

Knock 'em dead, Subzero.

I thought the DBR article was gratuitous, in that Austin and his family know that teams blow smoke in the pre-draft process. It's not evil -- it's just business. Information is money -- and so is disinformation.

Meanwhile, Austin got tested at the combine. Jumping was good: 32.5" standing, 37.5" with steps. Lifting was meager, I would say, in that he had only one rep, whereas the high number was 20. I haven't found the key to understand the agility and speed measures.

sagegrouse

[Lennies]

The first thought that occured to me was that the Rivers camp is spreading that rumor to encourage teams to move up to take Austin.

[johnb]

Jumping was good: 32.5" standing, 37.5" with steps. Lifting was meager, I would say, in that he had only one rep, whereas the high number was 20.

sagegrouse

Jumping and lifting were never his specialties,and Kevin Durant couldn't manage one rep a couple of years ago.
I'm not sure about the specific word choice regarding "fool," but I'm not sure it's a sign of anything. If you reread the last couple of years worth of DBR's, I'd say the occasional Rivers slight always came from routine fans; the head honchos at DBR have been advocates for him even when others complained he wasn't as good or as friendly as Kyrie.

[Starter]

The first thought that occured to me was that the Rivers camp is spreading that rumor to encourage teams to move up to take Austin.

See, I don't think so. If nobody bites -- and I don't see why they would -- Rivers just looks terrible when he slides.

[Starter]

Jumping and lifting were never his specialties,and Kevin Durant couldn't manage one rep a couple of years ago.
I'm not sure about the specific word choice regarding "fool," but I'm not sure it's a sign of anything. If you reread the last couple of years worth of DBR's, I'd say the occasional Rivers slight always came from routine fans; the head honchos at DBR have been advocates for him even when others complained he wasn't as good or as friendly as Kyrie.

It's funny in retrospect that so many docked Durant for not being able to bench a certain amount, and I'm not feigning innocence on that matter. If KD was trying to be a lineman or something, that's different. But to be an awesome basketball player, obviously it's not a prerequisite.

[Lennies]

See, I don't think so. If nobody bites -- and I don't see why they would -- Rivers just looks terrible when he slides.

He'd get over that draft day drama quickly, especially if he knew where he was likely to fall. However if a team picks him high, that has a lasting affect.

[sagegrouse]

Jumping and lifting were never his specialties,and Kevin Durant couldn't manage one rep a couple of years ago.
I'm not sure about the specific word choice regarding "fool," but I'm not sure it's a sign of anything. If you reread the last couple of years worth of DBR's, I'd say the occasional Rivers slight always came from routine fans; the head honchos at DBR have been advocates for him even when others complained he wasn't as good or as friendly as Kyrie.

Your reference to the use of f-o-o-l was due to... ?

I may have missed something -- no surprise there.

sagegrouse

[Kedsy]

Your reference to the use of f-o-o-l was due to... ?

I may have missed something -- no surprise there.

sagegrouse

The DBR front page article that inspired this thread states:



"Does Austin Rivers have a lottery guarantee? He’s a fool if he believes it..."