Nuggets guard Austin Rivers might owe 76ers assistant coach Sam Cassell a Christmas card.
Sixers coach Doc Rivers, Austin’s father, said it was Cassell who first recognized that Denver might be a good home for his son. After a tumultuous ending with the Knicks last March, Rivers was at home contemplating his NBA future. The 76ers happened to be in Denver on March 30th when Rivers approached Nuggets coach Michael Malone and relayed Cassell’s message.
“This would be a good place for Austin,” Rivers remembered Cassell saying.
Shortly thereafter, the Nuggets’ backcourt was ravaged by injuries, which immediately made Austin a viable option.