Thu, Jan 15, 2015 at 6:45pm

RIVERS TO CLIPPERS IN THREE-TEAM TRADE

In a three-team trade, the Los Angeles Clippers acquired combo guard Austin Rivers from the Boston Celtics; the Phoenix Suns acquired shooting guard Reggie Bullock from the Clippers; and the Celtics acquired power forward-center Shavlik Randolph and a trade exception worth $2.4 million from the Suns, plus swingman Chris Douglas-Roberts and a second-round draft pick in 2017 from the Clippers.

What does it give the Los Angeles Clippers
Essentially, Rivers replaces Bullock on the Clippers' roster. Yet he'll be under far more scrutiny than Bullock, since he's the son of Clippers Head Coach and President of Basketball Operations Doc Rivers. Rivers is a combo guard, so look for him to be used behind both shooting guard {P J.J. Redick} and superstar point guard {P Chris Paul}. In terms of pure 'fit' Rivers is solid for the Clips because he can play both guard spots and be a distributor, but he's not as dependable a 3-point shooter as Bullock.

What does it give the Phoenix Suns
Bullock's most notable NBA skill in his young career so far has been his 3-point shooting ability, and that seems to be the basis of his appeal here for the Suns (since they love to shoot from long range). Phoenix is additionally in need of more experience at the 2-guard spot coming off the bench, so Bullock fills multiple needs.

What does it give the Boston Celtics
The rebuild continues for Boston. The key to his deal for them is saving money by moving Rivers' contract (since they're expected to waive Douglas-Roberts, and Randolph has a more affordable deal than Rivers). The trade exception can help the Celtics with more trading (and can be used in the next full year), while the second-round pick is yet another future asset to help Boston with the rebuild.

Fantasy impact
Rivers has been somewhat a bust in his brief NBA career, and even now that he's playing for his father his fantasy value probably won't improve much anytime soon. That's because Rivers is stuck behind several star guards in Clipper-land, so even if he improves his shooting--a major issue--he won't likely see significant minutes this season. Bullock has a better chance at fantasy relevance than Rivers, but he too faces an uphill climb for minutes behind established starters and backups. Douglas-Roberts and Randolph are unlikely to see many minutes (if any at all) the rest of this season.