In the era of superteams, the NBA is an arms race, and the rich could soon be getting even richer.
With the league's trade deadline about a month away, the defending champion Cavaliers are reportedly on the verge of adding one of the league's most lethal snipers to its roster.
Vertical Sources with @ShamsCharania: Atlanta is finalizing a deal to send guard Kyle Korver to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojVerticalNBA) January 6, 2017
The 6-7 Korver, a 13-year veteran, is averaging 9.5 points while shooting 40.9 percent from 3-point range, good enough for 24th in the league. He also averages 2.8 rebounds and 2.3 assists for Atlanta (19-16).
Korver was named an all-star two years ago; that season, he finished third behind the Warriors' Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson with 221 triples in helping the Hawks earn the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference and Gregg Popovich disciple Mike Budenholzer earn NBA Coach of the Year honors.
The Creighton product would be a welcomed addition to a Cavs roster that already includes long-range specialists Channing Frye, the league's second-leading 3-pointer shooter at 46.5 percent; Kyrie Irving (42 percent); Kevin Love (39.7); and Iman Shumpert (37.5). Four-time MVP LeBron James is shooting 37.5 percent from deep, his best clip since the 2013-2014 season. The Cavs are also expecting guard J.R. Smith (36.2 percent), who's out with a broken thumb, to return for the playoff run.
Cleveland, which, coincidentally, set an NBA record with it nailed 25 3-pointers in Game 2 of its Eastern Conference semifinals series against the Hawks last season, are second in 3-point field goal percentage behind the Spurs.
"There's definitely mixed emotions. There's a lot of hard ties to Atlanta, for a lot of reasons," he said. "A lot of friendships, relationships. It's where I had my best basketball (seasons), honestly. It's where I had all my kids, so it's hard to leave that behind.
"Obviously it's a great opportunity for me to go to Cleveland, so I'm very excited about that part, but there's a lot of relationships that I care a lot about here and that I'm going to miss."
Sporting News' Tom Gatto contributed to this report.
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