The Cleveland Cavaliers are reportedly in trade talks with the Philadelphia 76ers, who are looking to add sniper Kyle Korver to the roster.
According to Keith Pompey of Philly.com, the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Philadelphia 76ers have had trade discussions that could send sharpshooter Kyle Korver to the Sixers for veteran point guard Jerryd Bayless.
According to a league source, the #Sixers have had discussions about trading Jerryd Bayless to the #Cleveland #Cavs for Kyle Korver.
— Keith Pompey (@PompeyOnSixers) July 20, 2018
Korver, 37, will make $7.56 million this year. The swingman will have a salary of $7.5 million next year, but only $3.44 million is guaranteed.
— Keith Pompey (@PompeyOnSixers) July 20, 2018
This is a pretty interesting trade rumor that popped up Thursday night as it could be the first real sign the Cavs are trying to have a soft reset rather than a total rebuild of the roster after LeBron James left the Cavs to sign with the Los Angeles Lakers.
It could also be due diligence by the Sixers to see if Korver is available, considering that without James in the East and their need to surround young stars Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid with above-average catch-and-shoot threats.
Korver, a career 43.1 percent shooter from three, certainly fits the bill.
Nonetheless, the Cavs should keep Korver as long as possible. Though there’s a logjam act shooting guard, his value as a de facto shooting coach can’t be overstated. After helping players like Kevin Love with their three-point shot this year, it seems like he has taught Cedi Osman a thing or two.
It would be great if he could do the same players like rookie Collin Sexton, who struggled from three-point range in Summer League, making 23.1 percent of his threes after making of his 33.6 percent threes in college.
If the Cavs are also “all-in” on being competitive team and trying to get into the playoffs this upcoming season, they need to keep Korver.
However, if the Cavs are serious about this trade, they need to get at least one young player or a draft pick attached in the deal.
Here are some deals that I created that work financially.
Trade #1: Cavs acquire Jerryd Bayless and Richaun Holmes for Kyle Korver
Trade #2: Cavs acquire Jerryd Bayless plus two second round picks for Kyle Korver.
Trade #3: Cavs acquire Jerryd Bayless and TJ McConnell for Kyle Korver.
Trade #4: Cavs acquire Jerryd Bayless and Furkan Korkmaz plus a second round pick for Kyle Korver.
The Sixers could also send over cash to help out the Cleveland Cavaliers efforts to buy Bayless out of his contract. Though there has been nothing reported on the matter, I believe the injury-prone veteran will be bought out if a trade is completed.
These trades make sense on both sides, especially if the Sixers want to dump Bayless’ contract on a team like the Cavs who are searching for young talent in the post-LeBron era.
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It will be interesting to see what type of deal the Cavs can get for Korver.
*All stats gathered from basketball.realgm.com