Fun little read. Sorry if it has already been posted.
By Elrod Enchilada
It is fairly clearly established that the key to success in the NBA is having the foundation of a superstar, the sort of player who is first-team All-NBA, is in the running for MVP and is a first-ballot Hall-of-Famer. Guys like, you know, Russell, Havlicek, Bird and Garnett, or looking outside of New England: Kareem, Magic, Jordan, Olajuwon, Shaq, Duncan, Kobe.
Red Auerbach’s great genius was his ability to plan ahead to nab a superstar. As the Celtics make a (perhaps) final championship run behind the Big Three, it has to be in the back of Danny Ainge’s mind how he can contend in the years after 2012 or 2013, when KG, Pierce, Ray Allen and Shaq will either be long gone or reduced to very limited roles.
The Cs, in all likelihood, will have Rajon Rondo. I am a Rondo fan and I think he will be, barring injury, one of the five or ten best players in the league from 2012-2018. (I think he is awfully close to that status now, lack of jumper notwithstanding.) I am not sure that will be enough in the superstar department to get the job done, especially looking at Miami and possibly New York in the Eastern Conference alone. No one can predict what rosters will look like exactly in two or three years, but the Cs chances would be a lot better for a post Big Three era if there were at least one other top 10 player on the roster.
As much as I love Big Baby, it ain’t him babe.
And while the Celtics may be able to get sufficiently under the cap to attract a superstar free agent in 2012 or 2013 or 2014, that is not clear. There are a lot of contracts to be negotiated between now and then, and a new collective bargaining agreement to be ironed out. Nor is it clear that there will be great free agents available, or that they would want to come to Boston.
This is where Austin Rivers enters the picture.
Austin is Doc’s son and ranked as one of the five best high school players in the nation. ESPN ranks him first overall. He will play at Duke in 11-12. Austin is a spectacular shooter and scorer. He is a 6-4 guard and is regarded as a “combo” guard with decent playmaking ability. But it seems like his ticket is as a very big-time jaw-dropping Kobe-style scorer with an out-of-this-world outside shot.
Now Austin Rivers may not develop into an NBA superstar talent; most players in his position usually become NBA players but only rarely become superstars. And if he doesn’t, everything that follows is of decreased significance, if not moot. Yet the possibility is definitely there. His chances are helped by being Doc’s son, and probably having a better sense of what it takes to succeed as a professional athlete, not to mention having a truly great man as your father.
But if Austin Rivers is anywhere near that good, he will be a top-3 pick in the first round whatever year he enters the draft, and it is highly unlikely the Cs will be in position to get him. So what is the point?
Unless the new CBA changes this provision, all previous CBAs have had a clause that has never (to my knowledge) been used, but that Austin Rivers may be in a position to use if he so wishes. What is it?
If a player is drafted and does not sign and does not play professional basketball for anyone, he re-enters the draft the following season. If he gets drafted again and does not sign for another year, then, two years after he was first drafted, he becomes an unrestricted free agent. Anyone can sign him, for whatever they can afford given their cap situation.
Most players would never consider this route because it means going two full seasons without getting paid and it means basically not playing basketball for two full seasons.
The only player who could have done it realistically in the past was David Robinson, selected first overall by the Spurs in 1987. Because Robinson was obligated to a two-year Navy stint, he could have remained unsigned and become a free agent in July 1989. Instead, Robinson signed with San Antonio in 1987 and got the security of a contract, even though he did not play in the NBA until 1989.
Austin Rivers may be in a position to take advantage of this clause to become a free agent or at least pressure teams so he can basically select the team that does draft him.
Why does he have leverage? Simple: his father is a multi-millionaire, with a net worth that means Austin Rivers will never have to work a day in his life, were Doc so inclined. Doc’s income is only going to remain in seven or even eight figures for the foreseeable future either in coaching or announcing. Unlike virtually every other prospective professional basketball player in history, Austin can live very comfortably even if he does not draw a paycheck.
Why would Austin do this? Basically so he could play for his father. Anyone who knows Doc knows what a great family man he is and what a loving father he is. He also happens to be one of the best basketball coaches ever. Life is short. Don’t you think Austin would like to play for Dad? Don’t you think Dad would love to coach him? Don’t you think Austin’s Mom would like that?
But it is more than that. Doc has called Danny Ainge his best friend. Danny, along with the ownership team, has gotten the Celtics back on track and re-created the family environment. Doc loves the way retired players are still part of the team and are big parts of the community. Doc knows that a lot of NBA franchises are nowhere near that. It is a gold-standard franchise. Doc has been coaching the Cs since Austin was entering fifth grade. Imagine if your father coached a team from the time you were entering fifth grade to when you were in college, and you were a hyper-competitive person. Imagine you hung around players on the team, like Rondo and KG and Ray Allen and Pierce, and they befriended you. Imagine calling Danny Ainge “Uncle?” Think you would have any loyalty to the team? Think Austin has any Laker paraphernalia hanging around the house?
Would Austin have to give up two years of his career to play for the Celtics? Almost certainly not. Whatever year he entered the draft, he would simply send a letter to all teams other than the Celtics advising them that if he is drafted by them he will not sign, and he will not play basketball professionally for anyone anywhere, and he has a contract to that enforce that if any of those teams do draft him. So there is no point in drafting him.
That also would probably be enough to get teams high in the draft negotiating to see what the Cs would give them for their draft pick. And no team picking very high in the draft would torch a No. 1 pick by selecting Austin just to spite the Celtics. The NBA would certainly not want to have a major talent collecting rust when he could be starring for the league. It is highly likely Austin Rivers misses no time and plays for the Cs immediately after ending his college career.
Of course, the Cs would be advised to have no part in encouraging this, or at least have no discernible finger prints. But this is very much uncharted territory: never before has an active NBA coach with a strong connection to a particular franchise had a son with this sort of talent. A father is certainly entitled to talk to his son about his career choices, David Stern notwithstanding.
So think about it: come say 2013 or 2014, a backcourt of Rondo and Rivers. R&R for Celtics fans, and basketball aficionados, but possibly hell on earth for the rest of the NBA.
Read more:
http://www.realgm.com/src_feature/1708/20101214/the_next_celtics_superstar_austin_rivers/#ixzz18BZGsDUv
Topic: Real GM Article - "The Next Celtics Superstar Austin Rivers" (Read 9887 times)