The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Calderon to sign with CLE; Korver offered
Jose Calderon reached an agreement to join the Cavaliers, per a tweet from Priority Sports.
Jose Calderon reached an agreement to join the Cavaliers, per a tweet from management firm Priority Sports.
The 35-year-old point guard averaged 3.4 points and 2.1 assists over 41 games split between the Los Angeles Lakers and Atlanta Hawks last season. Calderon was also briefly signed by Golden State on March 2, then released the same day when the Warriors instead decided to add forward Matt Barnes in the wake of a knee injury suffered by Kevin Durant which sidelined him for 17 games.
A 12-year veteran, the native of Villanueva de la Serena, Spain, has averaged 9.6 points and 6.2 assists per game. The 6-foot-3 guard is a career 47.3 percent shooter and owns a 40.9 percent career clip from 3-point range. Calderon is also among the league’s best active free throw shooters with a 87.5 percent career rate at the line.
Calderon figures to factor in the Cavaliers’ rotation as the recipient of minutes
backing up Kyrie Irving.
LeBron James publicly lobbied for the Cavaliers to add a point guard in January. The Cavaliers eventually acquired Deron Williams after he was waived by Dallas in March. Williams averaged one point per game on 12.5 percent shooting in the NBA Finals.
Korver offer
A person familiar with the decision says the Cavaliers have offered free agent Kyle Korver a new contract.
The person says the expected move came after the free agency negotiating period opened at 12:01 a.m.
July 1. The person spoke to The Associated Press July 1 on condition of anonymity because the deal has not been announced.
Korver made $5.2 million last season. He joined the Cavs midway through last season, coming over in a trade from Atlanta. He is one of the league’s best outside shooters is expected to draw interest from other teams. But the 36-year-old has expressed a desire to stay with Cleveland after making it to his first NBA Finals.
Korver led the league in 3-point percentage (45) and averaged 10.8 points in 35 games for the Cavs.
Trade talk
The Cavaliers and Houston Rockets are in talks for a trade involving Iman Shumpert, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported on July 1.
Shumpert would go to Houston in exchange for players with non-guaranteed contracts in a potential deal, according to the report. The Cavs would benefit because Shumpert’s contract, which has two years and $21.3 million remaining, would come off the books.
Shumpert averaged 7.5 points, 2.9 rebounds and 1.4 assists last season.