In their first significant move in the offseason, the Cleveland Cavaliers have reached an agreement with three-point specialist Kyle Korver on a three-year, $22 million deal. According to Brian Windhorst of ESPN, the third year of the deal is partially guaranteed, per his sources. Korver’s contract will be added to team owner Dan Gilbert’s growing luxury tax bill.
With Jose Calderon’s one-year $2.3 million deal and Korver’s contract, the Cavaliers will pay an estimated $42.7 million in luxury tax. And it will grow further as the Cavaliers need to fill three more vacancies.
Calderon and Korver can both sign their respective deals on Thursday.
The Cavaliers acquired the 36-year-old Korver from the Atlanta Hawks before last season’s trade deadline and got the needed perimeter shooting that he has known for throughout his career with the Philadelphia 76ers, Utah Jazz, Chicago Bulls and Atlanta.
Korver provided Cavs with outside shooting last season
In 35 games with the Cavaliers, Korver averaged 10.7 points with a 48.5 percent shooting from beyond the arc. He also provided LeBron James and Kyrie Irving another offensive option as they marched to the NBA Finals where they lost to the Golden State Warriors in five games. In 18 playoff games, Korver’s minutes and scoring dropped to 18.1 and 5.8 respectively.
A second round pick by the New Jersey Nets in 2003 out of Creighton, Korver averaged 10.0 points in 1,031 career games, with a 43-percent clip from beyond the three-point range.
Cavs eyeing veteran power forward Zach Randolph
The Cavaliers are also negotiating with free agent power forward Zach Randolph, who is interested in joining James and Irving.
Last season, Randolph tallied 14.1 points and 8.2 rebounds for Memphis last season. In his eight seasons with the Grizzlies, the 6-foot-9 Randolph averaged 16.8 points and 10.2 boards.
A 16-year veteran, Randolph also played for the Portland Trail Blazers, New York Knicks and the Los Angeles Clippers. The Sacramento Kings, Clippers and the Oklahoma City Thunder are also interested in Randolph, who earned $10.4 million last year with the Grizzlies.
The Cavaliers had several defensive-minded big men last season but Chris Andersen and Andrew Bogut went down with season-ending injuries while Larry Sanders was waived after a month as he was out of shape. The Cavaliers are looking for a big man who can take the load off starting center Tristan Thompson and help on defense. The Cavs ranked 22nd in the league in defensive efficiency, allowing opponents to shoot 45.8 percent.
