Last summer, after LeBron James bolted town (again), teams started calling the Cavaliers about their other veterans. Particularly sharpshooter Kyle Korver. Cleveland had some talks with teams, but ultimately decided the offers weren’t good enough and it would keep Korver, who along with the $120 million man Kevin Love would be part of a Cavaliers team that would somehow both develop young players while pushing for the playoffs.
After a 0-6 start to the season (now 1-6) and firing coach Tyronn Lue, the Cavaliers have decided to revisit Korver trade talks, reports Brian Windhorst of ESPN.
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The Cavaliers will find a market that has cooled on Korver, at least to a degree. He has looked his age (37) to start the season, slower and struggling on defense, plus he has shot just 5-of-15 from three to open the season. There are likely teams that think they can put Korver in a better role and help him get back to form, but after the Cavs’ ugly start to the season and Korver’s stumbles, the offers are not going to be as good as the ones the team got in July. Korver is owed $7.6 million this season and $7.5 million next season (only $3.4 million guaranteed), reasonable numbers for a good shooter off the bench. If Korver is still that.
Cleveland also will likely try to move J.R. Smith as well, but he is owed $14.7 million this season ($3.9 million guaranteed for next season) and that number is going to scare teams off. Love, with his new $120 million contract extension, is all but untradable (teams would want a sweetener to take on that much money, and Cleveland can’t afford to give up rebuilding assets at this point).