The NBA buyout market is slowly formulating and the Los Angeles Lakers signed the biggest name available in Andre Drummond. There are still some interesting names on the market as well as some interesting players who could be bought out.
Otto Porter Jr. is the best-case scenario for the Lakers. Porter was included in the Nikola Vucevic trade and the Lakers should be hoping that the Magic realize there is no reason to pay Porter for the rest of the season.
Porter’s contract is terrible but he is a solid role player who would fit nicely in LA. He would be the final piece of the Lakers’ championship puzzle.
But the Lakers need to prepare in the case that Porter is not bought out. The team is reportedly looking to add a three and D wing to the roster, so Rob Pelinka is obviously still gauging the market. If not Porter, then who?
Austin Rivers is on the market as he was bought out by the Oklahoma City Thunder after being traded from the New York Knicks. The Milwaukee Bucks are the current front-runners for Rivers but the Lakers could always make a play at Rivers as a backup option, right?
Wrong. The Los Angeles Lakers should stay as far away from Austin Rivers as possible.
Sorry to any Los Angeles Lakers fans who want to see Austin Rivers in the purple and gold but this would be a terrible signing. The Lakers are trying to get better with who they bring in on the buyout market, not get worse by giving someone such as Rivers a role on the team.
Rivers is simply inefficient and would not add anything to the Lakers. Yes, he has playoff experience. Yes, he is a decent-enough shooter and gives the Lakers another wing, which is needed.
But everyone in the NBA is a good-enough shooter nowadays and Rivers is far from being a productive wing. He is extremely inefficent on the offensive side of the basketball and is a below-average defensive player.
Rivers has posted both a negative Offensive and Defensive Box Plus/Minus in every single season of his career. He is below average on both sides of the floor and over the course of his career has actually accumulated a -3.7 Value Over Replacement Player.
Fun fact: Austin Rivers is the second-worst player in the entire league in VORP since he debuted in the 2012-13 season, only being better than Lance Thomas. He is also second-to-last in BPM since his debut (among players with 10,000 minutes played). Only Ben McLemore is worse.
It would be one thing if Rivers was an elite sharpshooter and could come off the bench and hit 1-2 threes in some swing moments of the game but that is not the case. He is an average three-point shooter at best.
And finally, if all of these advanced numbers are not convincing enough, Rivers was downright terrible in the NBA Playoffs last season. The Lakers exposed him every chance they could and Rivers shot 25.7% from beyond the arc and 31.1% from the field.
Austin Rivers is not a good NBA player. The Los Angeles Lakers, and any NBA team for that matter, should stay as far away as possible.