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Rivers gets a lot of flak for being overpaid after the 3-year, $35 million contract he signed with the Clippers in 2016, primarily because his father was the GM at the time. While it was an overpay, it certainly wasn't near the top of the list of bad contracts signed that summer. Additionally, the Clippers were in a tough position, having no cap space, and thus no means to replace Rivers if he left.

 

Rivers is a serviceable backup that can create his own shot and competes on defense. After being traded to Phoenix and waived, Rivers signed with the Rockets and became a valuable part of their rotation. Rivers has proven he can be trusted on highly competitive teams, which will help him in free agency.

Without having his Bird Rights, the Rockets will be hard-pressed to bring back Rivers. While they could potentially have access to the Non-Taxpayer MLE of $9.2 million, they most likely will only have the Taxpayer MLE of $5.7 million. It's unlikely the Taxpayer MLE would be enough to bring back Rivers. Even if it was, the Rockets may want to use that money elsewhere.

Potential Teams: Kings, Rockets, Thunder

Predicted Contract: 2-year, $13 million with the Kings

*Actual Contract: 2-year, $4.6 million (2nd year player option) with the Rockets.

I expected Rivers to get significantly more than a two-year minimum contract. However, it appears Rivers really wanted to stay in Houston, and it's unclear what his other options were, so he might have left money on the table to play with the Rockets.

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