Austin Rivers was traded to the Washington Wizards by his own father’s team on Tuesday, and if he’s bitter about the move he is not showing it.
Following the trade that sent him to Washington in exchange for veteran big man Marcin Gortat, Rivers thanked the Clippers organization, his teammates and the fans for their support over the last four seasons. He also wrote about how much it meant to play for his father, Clippers coach Doc Rivers.
“I know the scenario of me playing for my pops wasn’t easy for people to understand and accept ….some never will, but to the ones who did… I can’t thank you enough,” Rivers said. “Me and pops did something that has never been done in our sport!! Which was hard for a lot of people to understand but I am grateful for the time I experienced playing for him and the clippers.”
Rivers saw his role increase over the past four seasons, and he averaged a career-high 15.1 points per game last season while starting 59 games. It’s no coincidence that the Clippers finally decided to trade him after Jerry West joined the team’s front office, as Doc was the primary decision maker on roster moves prior to that.
Folks on Twitter got a kick out of the Clippers shipping Doc’s son out of town, but Kudos to Austin for handling it with class.
