Kyle Korver Trade Rumors: Why Has Atlanta Hawks Trade With Cleveland Cavaliers Not Been Confirmed By NBA?
Kyle Korver trade rumors about a deal between the Atlanta Hawks and Cleveland Cavaliers have not received NBA approval yet. A report by NBA analyst Adrian Wojnarowski states that the teams are still negotiating terms of the deal and an effort is being made to bring a third team into the equation. The end result should be that Korver plays out the current season with the Cavs and that the Hawks get a first-round draft pick for their troubles.
It has been assumed that an announcement would come from the NBA by now, as each trade has to receive league approval before it becomes official. The Cavs and Hawks haven’t made that call yet, as it seems that nobody wants Mike Dunleavy. The Hawks would prefer to not get back salaried players in the deal, requiring a third team to absorb some of that salary. No team has been mentioned as having interest in Dunleavy in the latest NBA rumors.
While there had been a number of Kyle Korver trade rumors since this past NBA offseason, no team was willing to step up and offer the Atlanta Hawks a first-round pick. When the Cleveland Cavaliers lost J.R. Smith to injury, the team needed to find another outside shooter to add to the roster. This all led to a scenario where the Cavs and Hawks match up perfectly on paper.
In order to put the pieces together for a deal with the Hawks, the Cavs completed a separate trade with the Portland Trail Blazers. In that deal, the Cavs send a 2017 first-round pick to the Blazers in exchange for a 2018 first-round pick. As reported by the Oregonian, that 2018 pick had previously belonged to the Cavs, but got sent to the Blazers as part of the Anderson Varejao deal.
Some NBA fans may be scratching their heads about this deal. The reason it happened is that the league has a rule where teams cannot trade first-round picks in consecutive years. By re-acquiring their own first-round pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, the Cavs can now deal their first-round pick in the 2019 NBA Draft to the Hawks. A reason for the Blazers to accept the deal is that they get second first-round selection in the upcoming draft.
Now the Cleveland Cavaliers have an important asset to turn those Kyle Korver trade rumors into a reality. The Cavs just need to figure out how the salaries of the players involved will work and if the Atlanta Hawks are willing to take on several players if a third team can’t be found to join this deal. It’s possible that the Hawks simply end up taking on Mike Dunleavy and Mo Williams in exchange for receiving that first-round pick.
Mike Dunleavy makes about $4.8 million for the 2016-17 NBA season and then has a team option worth about $5.2 million for the 2017-18 NBA season. Mo Williams is at about $2.2 million for the current season, which means he comes off the bottom line for a new team almost immediately. The salaries of both players are pro-rated for the rest of the season, making it less expensive for another team to take on either player. The scenario shifts a bit if the new team is already paying luxury taxes (like the Cavs).
The Cleveland Cavaliers have every incentive to make sure that this deal becomes official soon. Adding an All-Star shooting guard to the roster could make the Cavs even more dangerous than before. It could also give the team a shooter that can keep up with the pace of the Golden State Warriors. The level of investment from both sides of this deal suggests that the Kyle Korver trade rumors are going to get confirmed by both franchises at some point over the weekend. NBA approval should follow quickly.
[Featured Image by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images]
