What Kyle Korver Will Bring Back To The Jazz

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – The Utah Jazz announced that they have acquired sharp-shooting swing man Kyle Korver from Cleveland in exchange for Alec Burks and two future second round picks.

The 15-year veteran will bring his experience of playing in the league but also his playoff experience where he has played in 131 postseason games including two appearances in the NBA finals. He will provide much needed three-point shooting as Korver is hitting three’s at a 43 percent career clip. Utah is shooting 31 percent from three thus far this season, which is second worst in the NBA.

Korver also wants to be in Salt Lake City, he expressed his interest to leave Cleveland after the departure of LeBron James to the Los Angeles Lakers and with the Cavaliers clearly not a contender anymore, Korver wanted to join a team that will make it to the playoffs. At 37-years old, Korver is nearing the end of his career which is why he wanted out of Cleveland.

Sources tell @clevelanddotcom that Kyle Korver was very appreciative of #Cavs sending him to Utah. There were other teams in the mix. Korver wanted to go to a contender (you can argue if Utah is) & to a spot where he will be valued and used. Korver’s family is comfortable in Utah

— Chris Fedor (@ChrisFedor) November 29, 2018

Time With The Jazz

Korver will return to Utah for the second time in his career, with the first being from 2007-10. He was acquired by the Jazz on December 29, 2007 when they traded Gordan Giricek to the Philadephia 76ers for Korver. During that time in Utah he averaged 9.8 points per game in the 50 games he played during the 2007-08 season. He added a 9 point per game average in the 2008-09 season.

Kyle Korver #26 and Deron Williams #8 of the Utah Jazz can only sit and watch the closing moments of a loss to the Denver Nuggets during the second half of Game One of the Western Conference Quarterfinals of the 2010 NBA Playoffs at the Pepsi Center on April 17, 2010 in Denver, Colorado. The Nuggets won the game 126-113 to take a 1-0 lead in the series. (Photo by Marc Piscotty/Getty Images)

His final year with the Jazz in 2009-10, he averaged just 7.2 points per game but shot the best three-point percentage of his career at 53 percent, which still stands as his career high and is also an NBA record. Korver came to Utah when he was 25-years old and left when he was 27.

 Off To Chicago

Following the 2009-10 season, Korver decided to sign with the Chicago Bulls as a free agent. He joined former Jazz men Carlos Boozer and Ronnie Brewer and played two seasons with the Bulls. He averaged over 8 points per game in those two seasons and over 41 percent from three. Korver played 22 playoffs games in those two seasons and put up 6.6 points per game in 16 postseason games in 2011 and just 3.8 points per game in six playoff games in 2012.

Kyle Korver #26 of the Chicago Bulls sinks the game winning three point shot with 25 seconds remaining in the game against the Miami Heat at the United Center on January 15, 2011 in Chicago, Illinois. The Bulls defeated the Heat 99-96. (Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)

His best game in a Bulls uniform was against the Jazz on March 10, 2012 when he record 26 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists in the Bulls 111-97 win over Utah. Korver left the Bulls to Atlanta when he was 29-years old.

Tenure In Atlanta

Korver spent four and a half seasons with the Atlanta Hawks where he had the best stretch of his career. He was a starter for most of his time in Atlanta and they had some great success including a trip to the Eastern Conference Finals. His best scoring averages were in Atlanta where he put up 10.9 points per game in his first season in 2012-13, followed by 12 points per game in two straight seasons from 2013-15, which remains his career-best.

He had incredible efficiency from the three-point line during that stretch as he shot 45 percent or better from downtown including 49 percent in 2014-15. In 2015, Korver made his only NBA All-Star appearance, replacing injured Dwyane Wade.

Kyle Korver #26 of the Atlanta Hawks against the Charlotte Bobcats at Philips Arena on December 13, 2012 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

His numbers dropped in his final full season with the Hawks as he averaged 9.2 points and 39 percent from downtown. On January 7, 2017, Korver was traded to the defending champion Cleveland Cavaliers to help bolster their perimeter shooting. He was 34-years old when he was traded.

Korver played in 37 playoff games where he averaged 11.1 points per game and 38 percent from three in the 37 postseason appearances with the Hawks.

Time In Cleveland

In 35 games with the Cavaliers in the 2016-17 season, Korver put up 10.1 points per game and 48 percent from three. He followed that up with 9.2 points per game and 43 percent shooting from deep in 2017-18 season, his last full season in Cleveland.

Kyle Korver #26 of the Cleveland Cavaliers shoots against Shaun Livingston #34 of the Golden State Warriors during Game Three of the 2018 NBA Finals at Quicken Loans Arena on June 6, 2018 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Jamie Sabau/Getty Images)

He played in 18 playoff games in the 2017 postseason including all five games in the NBA finals against the Golden State Warriors where he scored 22 points in that series.

When the Cavaliers returned to finals in 2018, he averaged 6.8 points per game and shot 46 percent from downtown in 16 playoff games. Korver scored 6 points in the four games of the finals against the Warriors.