NBA Trade News: Cavaliers acquire Kyle Korver from Hawks
The Cleveland Cavaliers, the reigning NBA champions, have acquired veteran sharpshooter Kyle Korver from the Atlanta Hawks via trade, per fresh reports.
Korver, an unrestricted free agent in July, has been made available by the Hawks since last year's trade deadline.
According to The Vertical, the teams are still finalising the terms of the trade. The Cavs are likely to get swingman Mike Dunleavy Jr. and a 2019 first-round pick in exchange for Korver. Prior to the season, the Chicago Bulls traded Dunleavy to the Cavaliers to clear cap room to sign Dwyane Wade.
The report further added that Mike Budenholzer, coach-cum-president of the Hawks, has no intention to keep Dunleavy Jr. and is actively seeking a third team to acquire the veteran's contract.
Meanwhile, ESPN's Brian Windhorst has reported that the Cavs are trying to re-acquire their 2108 first-round pick from the Portland Trail Blazers. "In a separate deal, the Cavs are in talks to send their 2017 first-round pick to Portland to re-acquire their 2018 first-round pick the Trail Blazers own, a source said. This would enable the Cavs to use their 2019 pick to make the deal with Atlanta."
The Cavaliers don't have cap room to absorb Korver's $US$5.2 million ($AU$7 million) salary. However, they have a number of trade exceptions, one of them generated when they traded Anderson Varejao to the Blazers ahead of the previous deadline.
Korver would instantly bolster the Cavaliers' backcourt rotation which has suffered of late due to the injuries to J.R. Smith and Kyrie Irving.
On Thursday, after watching the Hawks prevail in a 99-94 victory over the Pelicans, Korver shed light on his mindset. "There's definitely mixed emotions. There's a lot of hard ties to Atlanta, for a lot of reasons. A lot of friendships, relationships. It's where I had my best basketball years, honestly. It's where I had all my kids. It's hard to leave that behind.
"Obviously it's a great opportunity for me to go to Cleveland. So I'm very excited about that part of it. But there's a lot of relationships that I care about here that I'm gonna miss," the veteran shooter said, via ESPN.
Kyle Korver, a former one-time All-Star, is averaging 9.5 points per game this season while shooting over 40 percent from deep.