We’ve seen Kevin Durant’s efficiency spike this season with more open looks available because of such dangerous teammates: His shooting percentage jumped from an already good 50.5 percent to a crazy (considering his shots and load) 53.8 percent. His true shooting percentage is up to 65.0.
Now imagine what happens when Kyle Korver starts getting open looks because defenses are dealing with LeBron James, Kyrie Irving, and Kevin Love.
The Atlanta Hawks are trading Korver to the Cleveland Cavaliers, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical at Yahoo Sports.
Vertical Sources with @ShamsCharania: Atlanta is finalizing a deal to send guard Kyle Korver to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) January 6, 2017
The arms race between the Cavaliers and Warriors is on.
This deal has a lot of moving parts and everything is not yet finalized. To make the salaries match, it is expected the Cavaliers will send the dead money in Mo Williams contract to Atlanta, but then the Hawks also will get a pick (likely protected in some fashion). The Cavaliers don’t have a first-round pick they can trade until 2020 because their 2018 pick belongs to Portland, but the Cavs are trying to remedy that.
Cavs are making a separate deal with Blazers. They will trade their 2017 1st to get their 2018 first back, sources said.
— Brian Windhorst (@WindhorstESPN) January 6, 2017
Also, lesser sharpshooter Mike Dunleavy is likely on the move from Cleveland.
Sources: Atlanta and Cleveland are finalizing terms on Korver deal, with Mike Dunleavy Jr., likely moving onto a third team through Atlanta.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) January 6, 2017
For now, Dunleavy could park in Atlanta, but Hawks are motivated to him elsewhere, league sources tell @TheVertical.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) January 6, 2017
If in the end the Cavs give up Dunleavy, Williams and a protected 2019 first rounder (which likely is deep in the draft anyway), they got a quality piece at a very good price. The Hawks were going to struggle to get equal value for Kover because he can be a free agent this summer — team’s don’t often overpay for rentals.
Korver can step right in and get minutes that J.R. Smith had gotten (he remains out after thumb surgery until close to the start of the playoffs).
Korver is shooting 40.9 percent from three this season, and nobody is going to be able to help off him while defending some of the best penetrators in the league in LeBron James and Kyrie Irving. Korver is in the final year of his contract at age 35, and is making a very reasonable $5.3 million.
Korver had spent the last four seasons in Atlanta, where he blossomed into one of the best shooters in the game. Leaving is not easy for him.
As for Atlanta, this is a sign that they are serious about moving the guys who are free agents this summer, after feeling burned by Al Horford last summer. That means Thabo Sefolosha and Paul Millsap may well be on the move as well.