Tony Dejak/Associated Press

Veteran guard Austin Rivers is heading to the Houston Rockets after the two sides agreed to a deal Sunday, per the Houston Chronicle's Jonathan Feigen.

Rivers began the year with the Washington Wizards but was sent to the Phoenix Suns as part of the deal that brought back Trevor Ariza. The Suns waived him before he played a game with them.

The 26-year-old failed to make much of an impact in Washington, averaging only 7.2 points and 2.0 assists per game while mostly coming off the bench. He ranked last on the team with minus-0.3 win shares in 29 games, per Basketball Reference.

However, Rivers has played far better in the past, especially last season with the Los Angeles Clippers.

Starting regularly for the first time in his career, the guard set personal bests with 15.1 points and 4.0 assists per game. He also shot 37.8 percent from three-point range and played strong on-ball defense, which was especially useful after the Clippers lost Patrick Beverley to a knee injury early in the season.

That skill set is what made him a hot commodity after the Suns waived him.

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According to Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium, the Grizzlies were the first team to show interest in Rivers, but "four to five other teams" also checked in on the guard.

He eventually ended up in Houston, a team that could use some extra backcourt depth, especially after Chris Paul suffered a hamstring injury that will keep him out for at least two weeks.

Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reported Paul had no issue with Houston signing Rivers despite their "unpleasant Clippers history" together.

The Rockets have little financial flexibility and few trade assets, which limited how they could find a fill-in for Paul. Rivers gives Houston another option at point guard along with Michael Carter-Williams and Brandon Knight.

Rivers should be able to immediately enter the rotation and help provide some scoring and defense to a team with high expectations for the rest of the season.