Austin Rivers sprained his right ankle in a preseason game tonight against the Dallas Mavericks. (Scott Cunningham, Getty Images)

The New Orleans Hornets’ injury problems just got a little more serious. Highly-touted rookie point guard Austin Rivers fell to the floor while scrambling for a loose ball in tonight’s preseason game against the Dallas Mavericks. Rivers left the court in a lot of pain, according to multiple media members at the game, and did not return to the court.

Now the verdict is in, according to the New Orleans Times-Picayune: A sprained right ankle. Even more worrying for the Hornets is that this is not the first time Rivers has had problems with his right ankle – the guard had arthoscopic surgery to remove bone chips in the joint just after this year’s summer league in Las Vegas.

Months after winning a national title with Kentucky, Anthony Davis set lofty goals for his rookie NBA season. (Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

Anthony Davis has lofty goals for his inaugural season in the NBA with the New Orleans Hornets. He wants to win the NBA’s Rookie of the Year award and is aiming for an even bigger goal, too: Defensive Player of the Year.

Davis sat down recently for a Q&A with The New York Times’ Joe Brescia, where it became clear that the glow of winning a gold medal with Team USA had worn off on Davis.

From the Q&A:

Q. What part of your game do you want to improve?

A. I want to get stronger. Improve my ball-handling and become a better shooter.

Q.What do you want to accomplish in your first season in the N.B.A.?

A.Win rookie of the year. Make first-team all-rookie, first-team all-defense and defensive player of the year.

Davis has had quite a year — in addition to a gold medal, he also led Kentucky to a national championship. He will be part of a revamped young lineup that includes fellow Top 10 draft pick Austin Rivers and the re-signed guard Eric Gordon.

“Eric is a great player,” Davis told the Times. “One of the best in the league. He doesn’t get enough credit. He’s the whole package. Shoots and plays defense. We have to find the right pieces and approach the season as winners.”

Doc Rivers will have his cell phone on him Thursday night as he sits with his son, Austin, in New York. (Jim Rogash, Getty Images)

The Boston Celtics have the 21st, 22nd and 51st picks in Thursday’s NBA Draft, and team general manager Danny Ainge will have to make the selections without his head coach in the team draft room.

Ainge told the Associated Press that Doc Rivers will not be spending draft night with the Celtics, but rather will travel to New York to be with his son, former Duke shooting guard Austin Rivers.

“He’s heading to New York with Austin,” Ainge said Wednesday, “which is where he should be.”

Rivers will be by his phone all night as the Celtics prepare to add to their roster. This offseason has great importance for the 17-time world champions since they only have four players — Paul Pierce, Rajon Rondo, Avery Bradley and JaJuan Johnson — under contract for next season.

The younger Rivers is projected to be an early- to mid-first round pick, although some have him going as high as No. 6 to Portland. Last year, he averaged 15.5 points on 43 percent shooting as the only freshman on the All-ACC first team.

The Chicago Bulls team that Derrick Rose returns to next year could be significantly different, with the team reportedly looking to trade for a lottery pick in this years NBA Draft. (Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

The Chicago Bulls are reportedly looking to move up from their current spot of 29th in the NBA Draft and would trade one or more players for the opportunity to acquire a lottery pick with the hopes of drafting either UConn’s Jeremy Lamb, Syracuse’s Dion Waiters or Duke’s Austin Rivers, according to Sam Amico of Fox Sports:

Could the New Orleans Hornets be the team giving a “lottery promise” to Austin Rivers?

The Hornets are “seriously considering” taking the former Duke guard Rivers with the No. 10 pick in the upcoming 2012 NBA Draft, The Times Picayune’s John Reid reported Monday. From the report:

When the New Orleans Hornets compiled their background check on 19-year-old draft prospect Austin Rivers, they didn’t need much help from their scouts. Hornets Coach Monty Williams supplied everything needed because he’s been a close family friend of Boston Coach Doc Rivers since 1994 and has known his son, Austin, since he was a toddler.

But they are seriously considering Austin Rivers, a 6-foot-4 guard who declared for the draft after playing one season at Duke.

Last Friday, Yahoo’s Marc J. Spears reported that a team may have given Rivers a “promise” to be drafted late in the lottery after he didn’t work out at the NBA’s pre-draft combine last Thursday. From Spears’ report:

An NBA source told Yahoo! Sports that Rivers has a promise late in the draft lottery. The Portland Trail Blazers, Toronto Raptors, Houston Rockets, Cleveland Cavaliers, Phoenix Suns, Washington Wizards and New Orleans Hornets plan to work out Rivers.

Reid reported last week that the Hornets were also “seriously considering” North Carolina’s Tyler Zeller with the No. 10 pick.

Rivers averaged 15.5 points and 3.4 rebounds per game in his only season at Duke.

Austin Rivers is headed to the NBA next season. (Streeter Lecka, Getty Images)

As his father Doc coaches the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals, former Duke guard Austin Rivers may have a good idea of where he’ll be playing in the NBA next season. According to a report from Yahoo! Sports’ Marc J. Spears, Rivers has been told that one of the teams in a late lottery position has promised to draft Rivers if he is still available.

One NBA assistant coach said he was surprised Austin Rivers didn’t work out at the NBA’s predraft combine here Thursday. The East scout expects Rivers to be selected in the Nos. 10-20 range, but an NBA source told Yahoo! Sports that Rivers has a promise late in the draft lottery. The Portland Trail Blazers, Toronto Raptors, Houston Rockets, Cleveland Cavaliers, Phoenix Suns, Washington Wizards and New Orleans Hornets plan to work out Rivers.

Considered the nation’s #1 recruit coming out of high school, Rivers played one season with the Duke Blue Devils before declaring for the NBA Draft.

It was speculated last week, and now it’s official: Duke freshman guard Austin Rivers has confirmed that he will enter the NBA draft this spring.

Austin Rivers has officially announced his plan to enter June's NBA Draft. AR: "Duke has prepared me for the challenges that are ahead."

—
Duke Basketball (@dukeblueplanet) March 26, 2012

Rivers shined for the Blue Devils this season, averaging 15.5 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game, but the team was upset in the first round of the NCAA Tournament by No. 15 seed Lehigh. Duke finished the season 27-6.

This is the second consecutive spring that Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski has lost a high-profile freshman guard — Kyrie Irving declared for the draft at this time a year ago, eventually going No. 1 overall to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Rivers is expected to be a lottery pick as well.

Duke University points guard Austin Rivers will declare for the NBA draft, according to CBS Sports. 

The 6-foot-3 guard will reportedly sign with an agent, which means he will not be able to return to Duke should he change his mind on the draft.

Rivers averaged 15.5 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game in his freshman season for the Blue Devils. He is expected to be a lottery pick.

This marks the second consecutive season a rookie point-guard has left Duke for the draft. Last year Kyrie Irving declared early, and was eventually selected No. 1 overall by the Cleveland Cavaliers.