CLEVELAND, Ohio — The 2016 NBA Champion Cleveland Cavaliers have acquired guard Kyle Korver from the Atlanta Hawks in exchange for guard/forward Mike Dunleavy, guard Mo Williams, cash considerations and a protected first-round draft pick (first possible pick is Cleveland’s 2019 first round pick), Cavaliers General Manager David Griffin announced Saturday from Cleveland Clinic Courts.
“We are extremely pleased to be able to add a player and person the caliber of Kyle Korver to our Cavs family,” said Griffin. “Among the most prolific and dynamic three-point shooters in NBA history, a selfless, and team first competitor, Kyle brings all of the elements of Cavs DNA that we covet on and off the floor. We look forward to welcoming Kyle, his wife, Juliet and their three children to Northeast Ohio and are certain our fans will embrace them with open arms.”
In Atlanta, President of Basketball Operations/Head Coach Mike Budenholzer issued the following statement:
“We are incredibly grateful to Kyle for his contributions to the Hawks over the last five years. He is a professional in every sense of the word and played a significant part in establishing our culture and in the success this franchise has seen. This is a difficult decision, but one we felt was in the best interest of the organization.”
Korver (6-7, 212) played in 32 games (21 starts) for Atlanta this season with averages of 9.5 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 27.9 minutes. He is also shooting .889 from the foul line and .409 from the three-point line, while scoring in double figures 16 times in 2016-17. Korver has spent the last four-plus seasons with the Hawks and currently ranks first on the team’s all-time free throw percentage list at .887 (329-371) and third on the club’s all-time three-point field goals made chart with 818 triples. Korver shot .452 (818-1,811) from the three-point line in his career with Atlanta and hit at least one triple in 311 of 332 games played with the team.
Playing in his 14th NBA season, Korver has appeared in 996 games (417 starts) with Philadelphia, Utah, Chicago and Atlanta, owning career averages of 10.0 points and 3.1 rebounds in 26.6 minutes per game. He was an NBA All-Star in 2015 and ranks eighth in NBA history with 1,952 career three-pointers (fifth among active players) and eighth all-time in three-point field goal percentage (.429). Korver has hit 100 threes or more 11 times in his career, including each of the last six seasons.
Dunleavy (6-9, 220), who was acquired in a trade with Chicago on July 7, 2016, played in 23 games (two starts) for the Cavaliers this season, averaging 4.6 points and 2.0 rebounds in 15.9 minutes. Williams (6-1, 198) was part of the Cavaliers’ 2016 NBA championship team after signing as a free agent on July 10, 2015 and averaged 8.2 points and 2.4 assists in 18.2 minutes in 41 games (14 starts) last season.
