Kyle Korver Gives Cleveland Cavaliers Perfect Piece for Championship Repeat

In a move blessed by the basketball gods, Kyle Korver will now be firing catch-and-shoot three-pointers directly from LeBron James.

Adrian Wojnarowski and Shams Charania of The Vertical first reported that the Atlanta Hawks would be sending the sharpshooting guard to the Cleveland Cavaliers, giving James and others yet another weapon on the perimeter. The Cavs, in return, are packaging small forward Mike Dunleavy Jr. and a 2019 first-round pick to the Hawks.

With starting shooting guard J.R. Smith sidelined until late March or early April following thumb surgery, Cleveland needed a shooter on the outside to fill his role. With the Hawks middling in Eastern Conference purgatory, their fire sale may just be starting.

After getting swept by the Cavaliers each of the past two postseasons, Korver now joins his former playoff foes in their quest for a championship repeat.

How Korver Fits the Cavs

Cleveland loves shooting the three-ball, and Korver doesn’t seem to mind, either.

The Cavaliers rank second in the NBA in three-point makes (12.9), attempts (33.0) and success rate (39.1 percent). Korver should only up the ante, as his 40.9 percent from deep trumps Dunleavy’s lackluster 35.1 percent.

There’s an endless amount of ways the Cavs can use their newest weapon.

As good as Cleveland is from the arc, it’s lacked a player like Korver who can move off the ball to get open. The Cavaliers travel less distance than any NBA team on offense (8.64 miles per game) and at the slowest pace (4.25 miles per hour).

Korver can run off screens for days. Even at 35 he averages 4.78 miles per hour, good for sixth among all qualified shooting guards. Kyrie Irving, by comparison, clocks in at just 4.28.

Why does all this matter?

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