Kyle Korver will stay in Cleveland as he just agreed to a three-year deal with the Cavaliers. The Cavs made it clear they want to bring Korver back and he was one of their top priorities this offseason. This was the second free-agent deal the Cavaliers made in the last 24 hours and it seems they are finally getting more active and trying to improve their roster over this summer.
While Kyle Korver is not exactly a big-name free agent, the Cavaliers have locked him up for the next three years and there's a chance he will stay in Cleveland until he retires.
Considering that the Cavaliers already have a great bench, we could expect them to sign or trade for a superstar very soon. Korver is a great player and will be a valuable contributor off the bench, but in order to win a championship title, Cleveland will need another star player.
Did Cavaliers overpay Kyle Korver?
Korver was signed to a three-year deal worth $22 million. This means the Cleveland Cavaliers will pay him $7.33 million on average, which is much more than they paid him last year. While salary cap increased by around 5 percent, Korver's contract jumped from $6 million to $7.33 million average, gaining a 22 percent increase. Considering he is 36 and that he's not getting any younger, this could be a bad deal for the 2016 NBA champions.
Free agent Kyle Korver has agreed to a three-year, $22M deal with the Cleveland Cavaliers, league sources tell The Vertical.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 2, 2017
In 35 games with the Cleveland Cavaliers last season, Kyle Korver averaged 10.7 points per game on 48.5 percent shooting from the three-point line. He was one of the best shooters in the league, but his scoring numbers decreased to only 5.8 points in the playoffs.
Korver was a liability in the NBA Finals as he averaged only 4.4 points per game on 31.3 percent long-range shooting. He will definitely have to step his game up if he wants to stay in Cleveland. The Cavaliers cannot afford him to miss so many shots during the most important part of the season. Despite receiving a three-year contract, it won't be surprising to see Korver traded if he doesn't improve his game.
Luxury tax will hurt the Cavaliers
After the $22-million contract Cleveland gave to Korver, the team will pay $42.7 million in luxury tax next season. Before Korver's contract, their luxury tax bill was $20.4 million, but now it's much more.
What makes things worse is the fact that the Cleveland will have to sign a few more players this summer, which will make the tax bill even bigger. It will be interesting to see what the Cavaliers plan to do this offseason and if they will unload some of their contracts to avoid paying big luxury tax. One thing is for sure, they won't do well without a general manager.
