Kyle Korver has played for four NBA teams during the course of his 13-year career, and it now looks like he’ll be adding to that total, after being traded from the Hawks to the Cavaliers on Thursday.
This move will likely result in Korver getting more open looks than he’s ever seen in his career, playing alongside LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love. Korver will help stretch opposing defenses, and given that he’s made 40.9 percent of the three-point field goals he’s attempted so far this season, it’s safe to say he will benefit from joining the Cavs.
Cleveland ranks second in the league in three-point shooting percentage (39.1 percent made), and is already a great three-point shooting team as is. The addition of Korver, who will help with floor spacing, should make them even more dangerous.
Korver seems to realize that joining the Cavs is a great opportunity, even though he has a lot of emotional ties to the Hawks, which he revealed after Thursday night’s game against the Pelicans (which he did not play in).
“There’s definitely mixed emotions,” Korver said, via Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com. “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.”
He then acknowledged that the move will be good for his career, even though it’ll be tough to leave Atlanta.
“From a basketball perspective, this is a great, great fit for me, and I know that,” he said. “There’s a lot that’s happened in the last four-and-a-half years, and a lot that I’m proud of, and a lot that I really cared about, and that’s what makes this hard.”
Kyle Korver talks about getting traded to the Cavs. Sounds sad about it but says it's a ‘good basketball move'pic.twitter.com/bvqWoBndeU
— Def Pen Hoops (@DefPenHoops) January 6, 2017
It’s hard not to feel for Korver here. The move came out of nowhere, and seemed to take him by surprise. He will, however, be presented with the opportunity to compete for a title, and that’s a chance that all players would love to have.
The main takeaway here is that the Cavs appear to have improved their roster with this trade. Your move, Warriors.
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