The Oklahoma City Thunder have waived guard Austin Rivers, the team announced Sunday.
Rivers, 28, was acquired at the trade deadline from the New York Knicks in a three-team deal that moved George Hill to the Philadelphia 76ers. With the Thunder focused on player development and playing younger players, Rivers wasn’t in the team’s future plans. Rivers is averaging 7.3 points and 2.0 assists this season in 21 appearances.
After waiving Rivers, though, the Thunder are light in the backcourt with the team announcing Sunday that starting guard Luguentz Dort has entered the concussion protocol. Dort took a shot to the head on Saturday against the Boston Celtics and exited the game in the third quarter with concussion-like symptoms.
Per the league’s protocol, Dort doesn’t have a set timetable but will need to clear benchmarks before being available to return to play. Dort, 21, is averaging 12.6 points and is regarded as one of the best backcourt defenders in the league.