Utah Jazz End Up Getting Kyle Korver From Cleveland Cavaliers

The Cleveland Cavaliers have dealt Kyle Korver to the Utah Jazz for guard Alec Burks and two future second-round picks, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. The Cavaliers will receive a 2020 and 2021 second-rounder with the latter coming via the Washington Wizards. 

The announcement of the deal comes one day after Basketball Insiders‘ Steve Kyler reported that the Cavaliers reached out to the 76ers inquiring about the availability of Markelle Fultz. The Cavs were rumored to have offered a deal which included Korver and a protected first-rounder for Fultz, but the Sixers weren’t fully prepared to part with the 2017 first overall pick just yet. “The Cavs are just one of several teams to have reached out on Fultz, but it does not appear the 76ers are as eager to make a change as maybe Fultz’s camp may want, at least not yet,” Kyler writes. 

Korver was a coveted player given his ability as a knockdown shooter who can consistently hit three-pointers, shooting a career 43 percent from downtown. On the offensive side of the ball, the acquisition of Korver makes all the sense in the world for a Jazz team that has struggled from beyond the arc. Utah currently has the second-worst team shooting percentage from deep at 31.9 percent. 

While Korver fills an offensive need for the Jazz, his defense has always been a liability. However, if there is one team that can mask his inefficient defense, it’s the team that features last season’s Defensive Player of the Year, Rudy Gobert.