Former Utah Jazz Fan Favorite Kyle Korver Headed to Cavs

The Cleveland Cavaliers added a dangerous three-point shooting weapon by trading with the Atlanta Hawks for former Utah Jazz sharpshooter Kyle Korver.

For quite a few weeks there have been trade rumors surrounding the Atlanta Hawks, who have likely come to the realization that their team needs a revamp for them to have any hope of eventually knocking off King James in the East.

However, while most of these trade rumors were focused on Paul Millsap, it was reported on Thursday that the Hawks are actually finalizing a deal to move another former Jazzman, Kyle Korver. And ironically, they’re shipping him out to the very team that has eliminated them from the playoffs two years in a row, the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The terms of the trade are still being decided, but it has been reported that the Cavs are parting with Mike Dunleavy and a 2019 first-round pick to make the deal happen. Cleveland and Atlanta are looking to involve a third team to finalize the deal, but have yet to do so as of Thursday evening.

There’s no doubt about it, this trade unquestionably makes Cleveland better. Kyle Korver is a renowned sharpshooter who is shooting 40.9 percent from three this season and has been a 42.9 percent shooter for his career. Not to mention, on open threes this year, he is shooting a scorching 49 percent from deep. With opposing defenses having to focus so much on LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love, you can bet that Korver is going to get many such looks.

In other words, with a weapon like Korver on their side, the Cavs just got that much scarier.

Korver is certainly an upgrade over Dunleavy as both his 2016-17 and career three-point shooting are about five percentage points better. Korver has also been healthier than Dunleavy and on the season is averaging 9.5 points compared to Dunleavy’s 4.6.

Jazz fans remember Kyle Korver for the role he played on a Jazz playoff squad that featured the likes of Deron Williams and Carlos Boozer. After coming over to Utah in a trade from Philadelphia, he was a nearly instant fan favorite thanks to his incredible three-point shooting and ability to come through in the clutch.

In the 2009-10 season, his last year with Utah, he shot a blistering career-high three-point percentage of 53.6 percent, 4.3 percentage points better than his field goal percentage that year.

So while the renowned sharpshooter has been a long-time favorite among Jazz fans, he will very well be coming into Salt Lake on January 10th as a devastating weapon for the reigning NBA champions. And as much as Jazz fans like Kyle Korver, having to face him at the same time as the likes of LeBron, Kyrie and Love surely isn’t about to tickle their fancy.

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So the rich continue to get richer, as they say. By adding another weapon in Korver, Cleveland now puts more pressure on the rest of the Eastern Conference, who was already well behind the Cavs, and on the Warriors as they all seek to dethrone the defending champs.

And as if that task wasn’t already going to be hard enough, it just got a little bit more difficult.

All stats courtesy of NBA.com