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The Trick To The Trade Case Study

Decent Essays

The Trick to the Trade: Why Kyle Korver Might Be the Key
The first major trade of the NBA season took place last week, when the Cleveland Cavaliers traded for shooting guard Kyle Korver. The Cavs sent the Atlanta Hawks Mo Williams, Mike Dunleavy, and a protected 2019 first round pick in exchange for the sharp shooter’s service. While Korver, who will turn 36 in March, isn’t the same player that he was in his hay-day, the man can still knock down an open jump shot. That alone, might be the key for the Cavaliers to repeat as champions.
The “Jirving” Effect
Don’t call the Cavs a “jump shooting” team. Yes, they are amongst the best in the league in three pointers attempted, made, and percentage. Yes, they have two ball handlers that create three …show more content…

The “Jirving” effect is the wide open shots that Cavs players are getting because of the drive-and-kick plays that both LeBron James and Kyrie Irving create for the team. That coupled with the ball movement that the players have bought into, players are getting wide open looks and are taking advantage of the increased air space.
Now the “Jirving” effect isn’t anything new to a LeBron James led team, with Heat used the same method, back when LeBron still had his talents in South Beach. However, this Cavs team is a little younger, and more athletic that those Heat teams, and now that most of the team has been together for three years, the chemistry and understanding of how to play together is really showcasing itself.
“The one thing that’s been a major difference now that we’re in year three is that everyone is just so comfortable in their role,” Irving said. “Guys are standing there ready to shoot. They just know that the ball can find them at any moment, so they’re ready to let it …show more content…

In his prime, it wouldn’t have mattered whether or not a hand was in his face or not, unless you blocked the shot, it was probably going in. But now that Korver is in his final stages of his career, he will greatly benefit from getting more wide open looks.
Filling in a Role and a Need
The Cavaliers are thin at the guard spot to say the least. As I wrote last time, the Cavs still need to find a quality backup point guard to spell Irving when he needs a rest. Now that the Korver trade has gone through, I expect another deal to be made before the trade deadline to get that point guard. Besides that, the second biggest need that the Cavs needed was help at the two-guard.
Now I know I just explained that the Cavs are shooting the lights out of the building, and that two-guard Iman Shumpert was having a career year beyond the arc. However, with J.R. Smith out for the remainder of the regular season with a broken thumb, a lot of the two-guard duties are being handled by youngsters DeAndre Liggins and Jordan

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