2017 NBA Free Agency Grades: Cleveland Cavaliers agree to re-sign Kyle Korver
The Cleveland Cavaliers have agreed to re-sign sharpshooter Kyle Korver to a three-year deal.
The Cleveland Cavaliers have their second signing of the offseason.
After signing veteran point guard Jose Calderon to a two-year, $2.3 million deal on Saturday, the Cavaliers locked up guard Kyle Korver on Sunday. He re-signed with the club for three-years, $22.3 million.
Some fans think the Cavs overpaid for him, which couldn’t be further from the truth. Bad NBA Finals performances aside, Korver is still one of the premier shooters in the NBA. He’s currently ranked sixth all-time in three-pointers made with 2,049, according to Basketball-Reference.
Free agent Kyle Korver has agreed to a three-year, $22M deal with the Cleveland Cavaliers, league sources tell The Vertical.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 2, 2017
That number is sure to go up once the 2018 season begins.
Some are also talking about it being a risk signing a 36-year-old shooter to a deal that lucrative. I remember a guy by the name of Ray Allen hitting one of the biggest shots in Finals history for the Miami Heat against the San Antonio Spurs in 2013.
He was 37 years old.
Age doesn’t mean anything when a player is a great shooter. Dirk Nowitzki is 255 years old, and he’s still going strong for the Dallas Mavericks ( Ok, he’s 39). I like to compare them to kickers in the NFL.
For example, Adam Vinatieri is 44 years old, and he’s still the kicker for the Indianapolis Colts. Why? Because he can still kick the ball with great accuracy. The same goes for shooters. As long as they can run to the top of the key or to the corner, create space and hit a shot, they can play until Father Time has had enough..
Korver is that type of player. According to ESPN, Korver was second in the NBA in three-point percentage at 45 percent last season. That’s impressive at his age with all the dynamic offenses that are focused around three-point shooting.
Fans know he’s one of the streakiest shooters in the league. Once he gets going, it’s hard to stop him. He has a lightning quick release, and once the ball is up, chances are it’s going in.
The financial implications mean the Cavaliers are going to need to dump some salary, since the signing launches the team deep into the luxury tax for a bench player.
The Cavaliers luxury tax bill for next season now increases from $20.4M to $42.7M with the Kyle Korver three... https://t.co/gq7wPYapQn
— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) July 2, 2017
It might not be the signing that Cavs fans wanted after missing out on Paul George or Jimmy Butler, but it was the most important signing of the offseason for the club — besides finding a general manager.
Next: 2017 NBA free agency tracker - Grades for every deal so far
The Cavaliers still have work to do as it pertains to improving the team. Korver and Calderon are a good start, but there has to be more done, and I believe that it will be.
Grade: A-