While the Milwaukee Bucks have been linked to Austin Rivers for a considerable amount of time, there’s been no traction on that front.
It was late last month where the Bucks were deemed as the frontrunners to sign Rivers after he was bought by the Oklahoma City Thunder following this year’s NBA trade deadline. That, of course, came right before the Bucks signed veteran guard Jeff Teague to shore up their backup point guard position, though left them with one remaining roster spot to fill.
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Now more than two weeks later, a deal has not progressed between both sides while Rivers remains available in the open market. And the market is heating up for Rivers’ services reportedly.
According to a report by Mike Singer of the Denver Post, the Denver Nuggets have an interest in Rivers, along with the likes of Troy Daniels and Gerald Green for their lone vacant roster spot. And that interest could grow stronger in light of the terrible injury to Nuggets guard Jamal Murray.
While no deal is imminent, though, it obviously sheds the growing competition that the Bucks face in trying to commit a deal to Rivers, despite already having added Teague on to the roster for the rest of the season. And as The Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor recently spoke about in the latest episode of The Mismatch podcast, the Bucks’ decision to sign Teague has certainly disrupted the path towards Rivers coming to Milwaukee:
"“They got Jeff Teague, so with Milwaukee, we’ll see if they would also add Austin Rivers or if Austin Rivers would even want to go there when they got their first choice in Teague.”"
The Milwaukee Bucks have a open roster spot, but face a squeeze with the luxury tax
While Bucks fans are eager to see the team address their lone roster spot at this time, especially as they look to get back to full strength, it’s safe to assume that it won’t be happening very soon.
As I recently explored, the Bucks face quite the financial hurdles in trying to fill that final roster spot, given the fact that they are $737,439 away from the luxury tax line after bringing Teague on board and their trade deadline. With Holiday’s bonuses and contract incentives in mind, the Bucks won’t be able to bring in a player without going into the luxury tax.
Until Holiday falls short in achieving the likely incentives that would vault the Bucks into the luxury tax, we won’t see the Bucks change on their stance until then. Luckily, the Bucks are able to sign a player that had to have been bought out by last Friday night to retain their playoff eligibility until the final day of the regular season. That would, in theory, make Rivers a possible option, as long as he doesn’t sign a deal elsewhere.
At this point in time, Rivers stands as the best buyout option that remains in the open market. While both the Bucks and the Nuggets have stood as reported suitors, Rivers will have his options to join any team that can offer him the role and playing time that he likely desires.
While we won’t see Rivers in a Bucks uniform anytime soon or possibly ever, the mystery continues as to where the 28-year-old will ultimately land. Stay tuned.