Duke basketball: Possible nepotism at play as Blue Devil must relocate

A former Duke basketball sharpshooter is set to play for his father-in-law.

Maybe new Philadelphia 76ers head coach Doc Rivers, who spent the past seven seasons with the Los Angeles Clippers, wants his daughter close by. Maybe the franchise’s general manager, Elton Brand, wants a fellow Duke basketball family member on his side.

Either way, a finalized agreement during the 2020 NBA Draft sent former Blue Devil guard Seth Curry — husband to Callie Rivers Curry since 2019 and former Duke teammate to her younger brother, Houston Rockets guard Austin Rivers — from the Dallas Mavericks to Philly.

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Again, taking into account the above relations, one could say the move shows clear signs of nepotism on the part of Doc Rivers, Elton Brand, or both.

In snagging the 30-year-old Curry, the Sixers had to hand over 27-year-old guard Josh Richardson to the Mavericks along with the No. 36 overall selection on Wednesday night in wing Tyler Bey, the 2019-20 Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year out of Colorado.

According to what Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey told ESPN, Curry is worth the price, seeing that the 6-foot-2, 185-pound veteran marksman appears to be a perfect complement to the team’s two centerpieces in Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid:

“Having a truly gravity elite shooter really changes the dynamic for Ben and Joel. Those who watch the Sixers up close and personal…when Joel and Ben have had that, it’s actually insane how good those lineups and how good those teams played when everyone was healthy.”

No doubt the Duke basketball alum is a prized shooter

Curry will arrive in his new city with a career 3-point percentage of 44.3, which ranks No. 1 among all active NBA players and No. 2 on the league’s all-time list, trailing the 45.4 percent of current Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr.

Last season, Curry made a career-high 45.2 percent of his attempts from beyond the arc while averaging 12.4 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 1.9 assists for a Dallas squad that lost in the first round of the playoffs to, oddly enough, Rivers and the Clippers.

Philadelphia, coming off a first-round exit at the hands of the Boston Celtics, marks Curry’s seventh NBA landing spot ever since going undrafted out of Duke in 2013.

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