Per Woj - Korver traded to Cavs

[Vox_Populi]

They essentially traded him for free if the rumor is Mo Williams and the Cavs 2020 pick is correct. I don't get it.

Woj reported Dunleavy's gone. Third team will take him.

That would make more sense. From a basketball perspective, Korver is better than Dunleavy, but not by as much as most would think probably. Still a positive for Cleveland though.

[max215]

David Griffin is a seriously incredible GM. Myers has gotten a lot of credit for the juggernaut that is GSW, which he deserves due to the big moves he's made, but Griffin's small stuff has been incredible. The whole Delly ---> Dunleavy ---> Korver sequence has been beautiful.

[MJohnnyboy]

Wow. Hawks were 7-3 in the last 10, including signature wins against OKC and the Raptors. They're 5th in a pretty tight east race. Guess FO didn't believe...

I think they realize that their roster isn't all that special. Sure they could possibly make the second round but is that the end goal when you have no ace in the hole? We wouldn't be nearly as excited to watch the Celtics if they didn't have the Brooklyn picks.

Their plans were ruined when they failed to re-sign Horford. The plan was sign Howard, re-sign Bazemore, re-sign Horford, and trade Millsap for assets. That way, they could have retooled their roster for another playoff run, but when Horford signed with Boston, it all went up in smoke.

[max215]

As Atlanta moves Korver to Cleveland, Hawks are actively in trade talks with several teams on Paul Milsap, league sources tell @TheVertical.

-Woj

https://twitter.com/WojVerticalNBA/status/817184366925324289

[tazzmaniac]

Sixers are probably the 3rd team involved.  They released Hollis Thompson yesterday which opened a roster spot. 

[Quetzalcoatl]

So the Hawks currently have 19 wins.  Hopefully they can keep Milsap another couple of weeks and then get that to 23 or so before he leaves.  They might win 2 games the rest of the season after that.  Hopefully Dwight's ego can win a couple of games before the season ends, he must be p---ed.

[saltlover]

They essentially traded him for free if the rumor is Mo Williams and the Cavs 2020 pick is correct. I don't get it.

Might be a 2019 1st (not that it matters terribly).  Blazers have Cavs 2018, but are apparently agreeing to take this year's instead.  Only reason I can see the Cavs asking to do that is to send off their 2019 1st to Atlanta.

But if true, that should also indicate the Blazers believe this year to be a better draft class.

[saltlover]

Sixers are probably the 3rd team involved.  They released Hollis Thompson yesterday which opened a roster spot.

Might be, but not necessarily.  Yesterday was the deadline to release players so they could clear waivers in time to have their contracts not guarantee.  If they'd decided to finally move on from Thompson, yesterday was the day to do so.

[LarBrd33]

That's pretty impactful.   With LeBron and Kyrie able to create at will, having an insanely good shooter makes things easier for them.   On a decent offense he was able to shoot over 50% from three.  His efficiency will go up playing with those two guys.  Very interesting.  Hopefully it's enough for them to knock off the GOlden State Globetrotters.

I'm kind of questioning if everyone here is remember Korford of a few years ago when he was actually an insanely good shooter. He is shooting 40% from 3 while a guy that just got cut today was 38% from 3. He is 23rd in the league basically tied with Bradley and behind Crowder. Frye is at 46.5% on the year and I don't think there is extreme panic about guarding Frye. He is a nice pick up, but people are not realizing how far into the back 9 Korver is.

I dont' think it's a coincidence that the arrival of Al Horford has caused Avery Bradley's shooting percentages to jump from .447/.361 to .482/.408.    Meanwhile Crowder's percentages have jumped from .443/.336 to .488/.430.   Meanwhile Thomas has seen his percentages jump from .428/.359 to .453/.364.  Meanwhile, Marcus Smart has seen his percentages skyrocket from .348/.253 to .363/.287.   And yes, collective improvement by all of these players has helped contribute to their increased efficiency, but a large part of that is the arrival of Al Horford. 

Similarly, it's not a coincidence that someone like LeBron James saw saw his percentages jump from .503/.333 when playing with hapless teammates on the 2010 Cavs to .531/.362 -> .565/.406 during his two Miami Heat title years.   Improved surrounding talent helps with efficiency.   We're seeing it this season with Kevin Durant seeing his percentages jump from .505/.386 next to Westbrook to .538/.392 next to the rest of the Globetrotters.   Meanwhile, Russell Westbrook is shooting his worst overall shooting percentage (.424) of the decade without Durant.

So then it shouldn't be too much of a surprise why Korver saw his three point percentage drop from 49% (which is insane) during his team's 60 win season that sent 4 players to the all-star game... Then last year they lost one of those all-star selections (DeMar Caroll), the team dropped to 48 wins, Korver's three point shooting dropped to 40%.  Then this year even despite replacing floor-spacing Al Horford with Dwight Howard, Korver's actually seen his 3p% creep up again to 41%.... which by the way is really good.  But he's now joining a team with a SIGNIFICANT increase in surrounding talent.  Kyrie and Love both shoot above 40% from three and LeBron takes incredible defensive attention away from everyone.  Korver will get tons of wide open shots.  That guy is MONEY from three.  His situation is about to get far easier for him.  His efficiency should improve, but so should the efficiency of his teammates with a threat like Korver spreading the floor for them.   

It's a pretty big addition for them.JR Smith shoots 34% overall and 36% from three (in large part because of the attention his teammates get).   Korver should be a major improvement to that role.

[bogg]

They essentially traded him for free if the rumor is Mo Williams and the Cavs 2020 pick is correct. I don't get it.

Korver's 36 and an unrestricted free agent this summer. He doesn't make anyone that isn't GS or Cleveland a threat to Golden State or Cleveland. I know the guy's got name recognition and plenty of stat geek love, but they're lucky to get any kind of first for him at this point in his career (and where the league is currently at competitively).

You're underestimating how badly Cleveland needed a shooter that can play alongside the wing. JR Smith, and uncharacteristically Shumpert are their only two.

How so? I said Cleveland was one of the only two teams that made sense for Korver. Given that Golden State doesn't have the contracts to make a deal work, the Cavs were bidding against themselves. Atlanta's lucky to get a first.

[mef730]

ATL plays BKN on Tuesday. Let's hope that they keep the band together for another week.

Mike

[jpotter33]

We don't have to go get Millsap, but we better hope Toronto doesn't.

What will be funny is if Korver goes to the Cavs, Milsap to the Raptors, and Howard to the C's lol

I'd say we lose big in that scenario. I like Howard, but Toronto becomes undeniably better than us in this scenario.

I actually see that the exact opposite. Milsap definitely helps them, but that gives us a much better D, especially interior D, and rebounding ability, which is where they've hurt us in the past and where we're currently weak at. Add to that the fact that our offense is much improved this year, which Dwight should only help with his post game and offensive rebounding, and our perimeter D is coming back around, and I think we're right there with them.

In fact, though you have to give the edge to Cleveland for being the champs, in that scenario it wouldn't surprise me in the least to see either Toronto or Boston knocking them off.

[celticsclay]

That's pretty impactful.   With LeBron and Kyrie able to create at will, having an insanely good shooter makes things easier for them.   On a decent offense he was able to shoot over 50% from three.  His efficiency will go up playing with those two guys.  Very interesting.  Hopefully it's enough for them to knock off the GOlden State Globetrotters.

I'm kind of questioning if everyone here is remember Korford of a few years ago when he was actually an insanely good shooter. He is shooting 40% from 3 while a guy that just got cut today was 38% from 3. He is 23rd in the league basically tied with Bradley and behind Crowder. Frye is at 46.5% on the year and I don't think there is extreme panic about guarding Frye. He is a nice pick up, but people are not realizing how far into the back 9 Korver is.

I dont' think it's a coincidence that the arrival of Al Horford has caused Avery Bradley's shooting percentages to jump from .447/.361 to .482/.408.    Meanwhile Crowder's percentages have jumped from .443/.336 to .488/.430.   Meanwhile Thomas has seen his percentages jump from .428/.359 to .453/.364.  Meanwhile, Marcus Smart has seen his percentages skyrocket from .348/.253 to .363/.287.   And yes, collective improvement by all of these players has helped contribute to their increased efficiency, but a large part of that is the arrival of Al Horford. 

Similarly, it's not a coincidence that someone like LeBron James saw saw his percentages jump from .503/.333 when playing with hapless teammates on the 2010 Cavs to .531/.362 -> .565/.406 during his two Miami Heat title years.   Improved surrounding talent helps with efficiency.   We're seeing it this season with Kevin Durant seeing his percentages jump from .505/.386 next to Westbrook to .538/.392 next to the rest of the Globetrotters.   Meanwhile, Russell Westbrook is shooting his worst overall shooting percentage (.424) of the decade without Durant.

So then it shouldn't be too much of a surprise why Korver saw his three point percentage drop from 49% (which is insane) during his team's 60 win season that sent 4 players to the all-star game... Then last year they lost one of those all-star selections (DeMar Caroll), the team dropped to 48 wins, Korver's three point shooting dropped to 40%.  Then this year even despite replacing floor-spacing Al Horford with Dwight Howard, Korver's actually seen his 3p% creep up again to 41%.... which by the way is really good.  But he's now joining a team with a SIGNIFICANT increase in surrounding talent.  Kyrie and Love both shoot above 40% from three and LeBron takes incredible defensive attention away from everyone.  Korver will get tons of wide open shots.  That guy is MONEY from three.  His situation is about to get far easier for him.  His efficiency should improve, but so should the efficiency of his teammates with a threat like Korver spreading the floor for them.   

It's a pretty big addition for them.JR Smith shoots 34% overall and 36% from three (in large part because of the attention his teammates get).   Korver should be a major improvement to that role.

your whole premise doesn't make sense. Korvers shooting dropped off when he was still playing with horford. He is very very old. He has lost a few steps over the last few years. This is not shocking even ray Allens shooting from 3 was trending down. If jr smith is back for the playoffs it is unclear how much Korver will even play

[saltlover]

ATL plays BKN on Tuesday. Let's hope that they keep the band together for another week.

Mike

We play them Friday, so Thursday seems like a fine day for their next trade.

[BitterJim]

Wow. Hawks were 7-3 in the last 10, including signature wins against OKC and the Raptors. They're 5th in a pretty tight east race. Guess FO didn't believe...

If they're not winning a title, picking up a #1 for a pending free agent makes sense to me.

Couldn't you say the same thing about the Celtics then next year regarding Bradley and Thomas?

If they were 36, sure