Korver Unsure Of NBA Future, Weighing Cost Of Returning

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – In his exit interview with the media, Utah Jazz forward Kyle Korver admitted he was a bit tired.

After all, it was a bit of a challenging season for the veteran sharpshooter. It ended poorly, with the Jazz being eliminated in the first round of the NBA playoffs in five games to the Houston Rockets. Korver revealed that in the series, he tried to play with a bad bone bruise in his knee, which may have explained his dropoff in minutes and production against the Rockets.

Not to mention, Korver also just turned 38 years old, which is quite old by NBA standards. In comparison, his teammate Donovan Mitchell is nearly 16 years younger.

Cost Of Continuing In NBA

As for what he plans to do with his future, or if he wants to continue playing, he admitted that he wasn’t sure.

“I think I still love playing basketball,” said Korver, before adding that the last couple of years have been hard.

Kyle Korver: “The organization is better than the first time I was here, the city is better … It was a nice surprise to be back here.”

— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) April 25, 2019

Recently, Korver has had to deal with a couple of midseason trades, the death of his brother and the pressures of maintaining family relations in addition to the grind of living an NBA schedule.

“There’s a real cost as you get older,” said Korver. “There’s all that you need to put into the game, and there’s also a family cost. That’s probably where I’m at, is weighing that cost. So this will be a decision that I make with my wife, my family.”

Leadership

Acquired by Utah for the second time in his career in November, Korver emerged as a vocal leader for the Jazz. His best moments were a well-received article in The Player’s Tribune and a viral moment after Game 3 of the playoffs where he heaped a mountain of praise of his teammate, Donovan Mitchell.

👌🏾 pic.twitter.com/19QcXgFffX

— Donovan Mitchell (@spidadmitchell) April 25, 2019

While some of his leadership was a bit more planned than anyone might have realized, for example his Player’s Tribune article had been a work in progress for around a year. Other things, were just what felt right at the moment.

“Sometimes, things get put on your heart and you feel like you’re supposed to say them,” said Korver.

‘It Was Great Being Here Again’

While the season didn’t end the way that Korver and his team hoped it would, he still is happy that he ended up in Utah again.

“It was great being here again. You never know how things are going to work out, we knew we were going to end up somewhere different during the year. Honestly, Utah wasn’t really on our radar, I didn’t know this was a possibility,” said Korver. “And it was great to come back and see a lot of the good, there was a lot of good the first time that I was here, the organization, the city, a lot of that. And just to see how everyone’s added that, the organization is better than it was the first time that I was here. The city is better. A lot of things are better, so to come back here and be a part of that, it was a nice surprise to the year. Where my career goes, I’m not sure.”