Cavaliers sign Kyle Korver to three-year, $22 million deal

The Cleveland Cavaliers traded a first-round pick for Kyle Korver midseason last year and Shams Charania is reporting that it won’t end up as a half-season rental.

Korver will turn 37 next season in March, and his age is certainly a concern for the Cavaliers on the back end of that contract, but Brian Windhorst reported that the final year is only partially guaranteed.

With a partial guarantee on the third year, this feels like a win for the Cavaliers. Korver shot 48.5 percent from three after joining the Cavs for his 35 regular season games, though his postseason numbers dipped pretty significantly down to 39.1 percent.

Korver really had the Cavaliers over a barrel here: they had no means to replace him if he walked and a player that can shoot like him is almost certainly going to garner interest from contenders.

There has been some concern over the size of the contract, but in this cap climate, just over $7 million per year is pretty fine for a player as important to the Cavaliers as Korver is. For a frame of reference, Shaun Livingston, a player with a similar sized role on Golden State, earned a three-year, $24 million deal, also with a partial guarantee in that third year. The Warriors aren’t quite in the same dire financial straits as the Cavaliers just yet due to not paying the repeater tax.

The Cavs needed Korver back, and they got him back without paying an 8-figure deal. If Korver declines quickly starting next year, they’ll be in trouble, but that’s a risk the team probably has to take.