Nuggets rumored to have interest in free agent Austin Rivers

Austin Rivers started the season in the Knicks’ guard rotation, averaging  7.3 points a game, shooting 36.4% from three, but struggling overall to efficiently fit his game into Tom Thibodeau’s system. At the trade deadline, Rivers was sent to Oklahoma City as part of the three-team George Hill deal. Oklahoma City waived Rivers, who was expected to sign with the Bucks, but Milwaukee went with Jeff Teague.

That left Rivers as a free agent.

The Nuggets could be a landing spot for Rivers as the Nuggets need guard depth after trading Gary Harris and R.J. Hampton, reports Mike Singer of the Denver Post.

The Nuggets have interest in adding free agent guard Austin Rivers as they look to bolster their roster ahead of the postseason, league sources told The Denver Post.

In addition to Rivers, the Nuggets also have free agents Troy Daniels and Gerald Green on their radar, league sources said…

Another, perhaps more significant, issue for the Nuggets is whether someone like Rivers would be content buried on the depth chart. Nuggets coach Michael Malone has had a difficult enough time finding minutes for regular rotation guys as is. In Sunday’s loss to Boston, Malone used 10 different guys before the game was out of hand, not including Jamal Murray or recently acquired JaVale McGee.

Once Murray gets healthy (he has missed the last four games with a sore knee), there will not be a lot of minutes to go around with Will Barton, Monte Morris, and Facundo Campazzo in the mix. It’s fair to ask if Rivers wants that kind of role with the Nuggets.

It also may be the only kind available to him the rest of this season.