Austin Rivers is confident in the Rockets.
Houston re-signed the 26-year-old guard to a two-year contract, reportedly worth the veterans' minimum, earlier this week. Rivers told ESPN he had offers elsewhere for more money but returned to the Rockets because he believes they have a chance to win a championship.
“Now that the league is wide open, I just saw an opportunity,” Rivers said. “You can’t really put a price on happiness. The goal was to come back to Houston all along. I think we have the team to beat.”
Austin Rivers had offers in $5.7M midlevel range but took the vet minimum from Rockets. “Now that the league is wide open, I just saw an opportunity. You can’t really put a price on happiness. The goal was to come back to Houston all along. I think we have the team to beat.”
— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) July 1, 2019
Rivers began the season with the Wizards and ended up signing with the Rockets after he was waived by the Suns following a trade in December. He averaged 8.7 points and 2.3 assists in 28.6 minutes per game during his time with Houston.
The Rockets were at the center of controversy last month when a report surfaced saying the relationship between star James Harden and Chris Paul was “unsalvageable.” Rivers, however, said he didn’t see any issues.
"I know nothing about any of that. I don't know where that's coming from," Rivers said during an interview with TMZ in June. "A lot of fantasy tales being told right now. ... It's definitely not true. I didn't see any issues between any of them. It's just made up news, fake news like most of the stuff you see on these Instagram pages."
The Rockets' top target this summer was Jimmy Butler, according to multiple reports. But, they missed out on him when the wing was sent to the Heat in a sign-and-trade.
The Rockets re-signed Gerald Green and Danuel House at the start of free agency.
They’ve also reportedly explored dealing center Clint Capela.