Hornets Select Austin Rivers With 10th Pick

 The New Orleans Hornets have selected Austin Rivers out of Duke with the 10th overall pick in the NBA Draft.

Rivers is a guard, but there is uncertainty as to whether he'll play at the point or the two spot.

Hornets GM Dell Demps met with us a few minutes ago and was asked that question, responding, "I'll leave that up to the coach (Monty Williams)," explained Demps. "We've got a really good coach...and I think he's going to put him (Rivers) in the best situation for the team. I'll let coach handle that and I have ultimate faith in him."

Rivers had some ups and downs in his one year at Duke. The son of former NBA player and current coach Doc Rivers (who is close friends with Williams) rubbed some of his Blue Devil teammates the wrong way with his questionable, sometimes selfish shot selection. On the plus side, he's extremely confident, a great shooter with deep range, and a pretty sick crossover.

Already having a relationship with Williams and Demps will be a plus. Both have known Austin since he was 4 years old. Rivers needs to discipline a few aspects of his game. New Orleans' coaching staff is one of the best in the NBA at developing young talent.

If Rivers ends up playing shooting guard, his minutes will be limited because of projected starter Eric Gordon being "the best player on our team" (Demps and Williams). Austin will need to work on his passing if he plans on earning minutes at point guard.

Rivers' shining moment at Duke was a season-high 29 point performance on the road against rival North Carolina. The Tar Heels were ranked 5th in the Country, and lost on a last second three-pointer by Rivers.