The Cleveland Cavaliers (4-15) traded 16-year veteran Kyle Korver to the Utah Jazz for Alec Burks and a pair of second-round draft picks.
The 37-year old Korver is the fourth-best three-point shooter in the history of the NBA. He is also a career 43 percent shooter from behind the arc. Korver set an NBA record with the Atlanta Hawks during the 2009-10 season when he shot 53.6 percent from three-point range for the entire season.
LeBron Apocalypse
The Cavs had to pick up the pieces of a LeBron James departure for a second time. Management insisted they were not going to reboot the team completely. The Cavs wanted to compete with Kevin Love as the centerpiece. They signed him to a four-year contract extension worth $120 million. That sounded like a loyal game plan, but the wheels fell off the bus right away.
Only four games in the season, Kevin Love went down with an injury.
The Cavs started the season with a six-game losing streak. Management wanted head coach Ty Lue to play younger players, such as top draft pick Colin Sexton. That meat veterans like Kyle Korver and JR Smith fell out of the rotation. Korver took the demotion in stride, but JR Smith was vocal about his lack of playing time.
Lue wanted to snap a losing streak and felt compelled to play veterans. Management fired him for not meshing with their philosophy.
Jazz Reprise
In the second round of the 2003 NBA Draft, the Philadelphia Sixers drafted Kyle Korver out of Creighton. During his fifth season, the Sixer traded Korver to the Utah Jazz for a first-round pick and Gordon Giricek.
After three seasons with the Jazz, Korver spent a short stint in Chicago with the Bulls before they traded him to the Atlanta Hawks in 2012.
Korver thrived in his five seasons with the Hawks and he posted some of his best career numbers. The Hawks traded Korver to the Cavs mid-season in 2017. Korver became a reliable bench player and a reliable spot-up shooter. Korver did not win a title with the Cavs, but he played quality minutes during the NBA Finals appearances against the Golden State Warriors the last two season.
If LeBron James bolted in free agency, Korver had a handshake deal with the Cavs that they would trade him before the season started. the family-man Korver did not want to relocate his wife and children in the middle of a school year.
The Cavs did not honor Korver’s wishes and shipped him mid-season. Korver maintained his professionalism despite the early-season drama, which is why teammates felt betrayed. Despite getting screwed over, Korver maintained a humble tone.
“I’m really grateful for my time in Cleveland. So many amazing opportunities,” said Korver. “Relationships that I’ll take with me for the rest of my life. The fans really embraced me and my family. I’ve never heard ‘thank you’ so many times from fans, even after harder moments. Cleveland fans are who I play for.”
At the least, the Cavs traded him to a familiar city. Korver played with the Jazz from 2007 through 2010.
“I met my wife in Salt Lake City,” said Korver, who has ties to Utah. “We have lots of friendships there, which will soften the landing.”
In exchange for Korver, the Cavs acquired 27-year old shooting guard Alec Burks and second round picks in 2020 and 2021. Burks averaged 8.4 points this season with the Jazz. The Jazz drafted Burks in the first round of the 2011 NBA draft.
Help Wanted: Sharpshooter
After securing the #5 seed in the Western Conference playoffs last season, the Jazz were expected to win the Southwest division this year. But they got off to bad 4-6 start to the season.
The Jazz are ranked 29th out of 30, or second-worst in the NBA in three-point shooting with a 31.9 percent rate. The Jazz desperately needed a consistent deep threat. Korver fits the bill.
Donovan Mitchell leads the Jazz in scoring with 21.1 points per game. Mitchell shows flashes of sheer brilliance, but he’s also working through the road bumps that accompany a sophomore season in the NBA. One of Mitchell’s rare weak points is his three-point shooting (a dismal 28.9 percent).
The addition of Korver takes a little pressure off Mitchell and beefs up the Jazz’s perimeter shooting.
The Jazz play the Cavs in Cleveland at the start of the new year on January 4, 2019. Two weeks later, the Jazz host the Cavs in Salt Lake City.