It just seems like such a short-sighted, weird solution -- a bandaid that would make everyone forget about how horrible it feels to get 0 items and someone else gets 4.
"Here, have some pennies and shut up, you ungrateful peasants."
Do they have just anyone with logic working on this problem? Substitutes really only work if the substitute good (x) has a perceived value of equality to good (y), in this case: if the value of the gold (x) you get is equal to the value of the items you would get (y). Currently, this is damn near impossible to estimate when the type of items that drop are also RNG and the VALUE of the items are highly varied, usually dependent on team comps and champs you buy.
So, how could the gold substitute become equal in value to items? Well, Riot could try to do EXTENSIVE calculations regarding the gold-value of each item on each champion in every team comp, and cross-reference that with what players in your game are building to determine the gold you should get from Creep rounds when you get don't get items. (not the right solution)
OR you could create a shop for players to BUY items from the gold they get. (not a bad solution imo)
OR you could just remove the RNG element from # of item drops by giving everyone the same # of item drops, consequently removing the need for inadequate gold compensation.
But that's just my two cents. 
