NBA Rumors: Atlanta Hawks Permanently Benching Kyle Korver Next Season

NBA rumors are swirling around Kyle Korver. With the Atlanta Hawks struggling to figure out how to beat LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers, head coach Mike Budenholzer decided to make a big change to his starting lineup. According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Korver was benched in favor of Thabo Sefolosha. Some in the National Basketball Association believe that the move could be permanent and could stretch into next season. The Hawks might be looking for a new starter this summer.

While there is nobody in the NBA that can truly shut down LeBron James on a consistent basis, Mike Budenholzer knew that he needed to do something if the Atlanta Hawks were to have a chance at beating the Cleveland Cavaliers. To his credit, the former San Antonio Spurs assistant coach refused to back down from the hottest team in the National Basketball Association. Budenholzer replaced Kyle Korver in the starting lineup with Thabo Sefolosha.

One of the biggest reasons why the Atlanta Hawks replaced Kyle Korver with Thabo Sefolosha is because of defense. Though he’s not one of the biggest lock down defenders in the NBA, he’s a very solid one. Sefolosha is also an upgrade over Korver in that department. At 6’7?, Thabo is a very lengthy player, and he uses that to help him slow down offensive players. Kyle isn’t nearly as willing of a defender as Sefolosha is.

Thabo Sefolosha taking over for Kyle Korver in the NBA Playoffs doesn’t necessarily mean that he’s going to be the starter when next season starts. The Atlanta Hawks are going to put shooting guards and small forwards higher on their priority list this summer. They’re hoping to find an upgrade over Sefolosha and Korver, so that they can try to beat the Cleveland Cavaliers, who have swept them for two years in a row.

Being a bench player isn’t the end of the world for Kyle Korver. The Atlanta Hawks still plan on having him in the rotation. If he can put his ego aside, he can do for the team what Manu Ginobili has done for the San Antonio Spurs for years. Korver has already shown that he can be quite the offensive weapon off the bench. He can shift the momentum of a game in that role.

Of course, if Kyle Korver does not like the situation, then he can be quite the trade asset for the Atlanta Hawks. The veteran shooter only has one year left on his contract, and the deal is worth barely more than $5 million. With the salary cap being raised to record breaking levels, that contract is now more than reasonable. Plenty of teams in the NBA will pick up the phone if the Hawks were to call them about trading for Korver.

Something has to give for that Atlanta Hawks. They’re going to be spending a ton of money on retaining Al Horford this summer. The center is expected to be one of the first NBA players paid under the new maximum contract. No team wants to spend a ton of money and be eliminated by the Cleveland Cavaliers every single year. Being a middle of the road team is a great way to alienate fans and season ticket holders.

NBA teams know that they need to win a championship if they want to continue to do good business. The Atlanta Hawks don’t have a huge fan base, but they know that the numbers will dwindle quite a bit if they’re not winning games. After a couple of seasons, those fans will flock even further away if they don’t believe that the team is capable of being champions.