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Cleveland Cavaliers: How Did Kyle Korver Trade Cause Blazers’ Trade?

By Matthew Beighle

Jan 5, 2017; New Orleans, LA, USA; Atlanta Hawks guard Kyle Korver (26) sits on the bench during the first quarter of a game against the New Orleans Pelicans at the Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 5, 2017; New Orleans, LA, USA; Atlanta Hawks guard Kyle Korver (26) sits on the bench during the first quarter of a game against the New Orleans Pelicans at the Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports /
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The reason the Kyle Korver trade took days to be officially completed is because of Cleveland Cavaliers’ former owner Ted Stepien.

Who is Ted Stepien and what in the world does he have to do with the consecutive trades the Cleveland Cavaliers made this week? Ted Stepien owned the Cleveland Cavaliers from 1980-1983. He is widely considered to be one of the worst owners in the history of professional sports and the Cavaliers were so bad during his regime, they were nicknamed the ‘Cleveland Cadavers’. Over the course of the 3 years he was there Stepien traded away 5 consecutive first-round Cavalier picks ranging from 1982-1985. After that, the NBA had enough and instituted the “Stepien Rule”.

What is the Stepien Rule? The rule established two main barriers to protect teams from themselves:

  1. Teams could no longer trade consecutive first-round picks. (Example: Los Angeles cannot offer its 2017 and 2018 first-round picks in a hypothetical trade for Kyle Lowry. Instead, it could send any two picks that have at least one season in between them, like one in 2017 and one in 2019.)
  2. Picks can only be traded seven years into the future. (Example: Los Angeles cannot offer its 2017, 2019, 2021, 2023 and 2025 first-round picks in a hypothetical trade for Kevin Durant. Instead it is limited to offering its 2017, 2019 and 2021 picks in that deal.)

It should be noted that the Stepien Rule applies only to future draft picks. For example: though the New York Knicks have traded away their 2017 first-round pick, they are free to trade their 2018 first-round pick once their selection has gone by in the 2017 draft. Until that point, though, the 2019 first-round pick is the first one eligible to be traded. 

How does that apply to Kyle Korver?

Now that we know the nuances of the “Stepien Rule”, let’s look at how that ties together the trade made with the Portland Trail Blazers to the Kyle Korver trade. If you think back to 2016, when the Cavaliers acquired Channing Frye from Orlando in a three-team deal, you will remember that the Cavs also dealt Anderson Varejao and their 2018 first-round pick to the Trail Blazers.

In the Korver trade, the Hawks wanted a protected first-round pick to facilitate the deal. According to the rule, since we had already traded away our 2018 first-round pick for Frye, we couldn’t trade away our 2019 first-round pick because we would be giving away back-to-back first round picks.

The Cavaliers quickly jumped into action trying to get that 2018 first-round pick back. Only after they successfully traded the Portland Trail Blazers their 2018 first-round pick back for their 2017 first-round pick could they complete the Korver deal. Eventually, just that happened and Korver is now on his way to Cleveland, another name on the growing list of weapons at James’ disposal.

Related Story: 3 Reasons The Cavs Are Better With Kyle Korver