Philadelphia 76ers: Kyle Korver should finish out his career in Philly

After over a decade away from the team, 3-point sharpshooter Kyle Korver should finish out his storied career as a member of the Philadelphia 76ers.

If current Cleveland Cavaliers‘ wingman Kyle Korver decides he wants to continue to compete for championships in the twilight years of his NBA career, he should do so as a member of the Philadelphia 76ers.

While Korver wasn’t technically drafted by the team, as he was the 51st overall selection in the 2003 NBA Draft by the then-New Jersey Nets, Korver spent the first five years of his career in the City of Brotherly Love and endeared himself to one of the best fanbases in all of sports with his hard work and commitment to his craft.

As a teammate of Philly sports legend Allen Iverson, Korver appeared in 337 games for the Sixers from 2003-2007 before being traded to the Utah Jazz for Gordan Giriček and a future first-round and became a fan favorite in the black and gold.

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Though he only made 101 starts for the team over four and a half seasons, Korver almost immediately established himself as one of the best 3-point shooters in league history, maintaining a very impressive 40.8 shooting percentage over his time with the team.

But once he left town, the Creighton alumni somehow got even better.

Over the next decade, Korver led the league in 3-point shooting percentage four times, including an absolutely insane 53.6 percent in 2009-2010, and became a fixture on 11 different playoff teams.

And at 37 years old, Korver is still going strong.

While his name can no longer be found in starting lineups with much regularity, the 15-year vet has successfully transitioned into one of the deadly sharpshooter coming off the bench in the league and is a big reason why the Cavs are still playing in the Eastern Conference Finals against the Boston Celtics.

But Korver has never won an NBA title, and with only so much time left to play in the league that window could be closing fast.

While Korver has made the NBA Finals only once, in 2017 as a member of the Cavaliers, if LeBron James does leave his hometown team, and take his talents to greener pastures, Korver may be on the lookout for a new, playoff-bound team in need of a sharpshooting sixth man.

A team like the Philadelphia 76ers.

Though Korver doesn’t bring much to the table in way of defense, as he finished out the 2017-2018 season with a very unimpressive -2.61 defensive Real Plus-Minus, and has never been the most athletic player even in his prime, Korver could give Brett Brown‘s squad a second all-world shooter to pair with (hopefully) returning ace J.J. Redick in 2018 and ensure that there is always a 40-plus percent 3-point shooter waiting in the wings for a dime pass from Ben Simmons.

But does Korver even want to play another year in the league?

After losing his brother to a surprise illness at the way to young age of 27 on March 20th, Korver is seemingly at a crossroads as to his future, with his life post-basketball more than likely weighing heavily on his mind. Though he has accomplished a lot over his 15 years in the league, and signed a three year, $22 million deal to remain a Cavalier moving forward, he may only have a season or two left to play in the league and could very well attempt to force his way out of Cleveland to continue his relentless pursuit of a championship trophy.

Philly could give him that opportunity, especially if the King himself decides to make a home in the City of Brotherly Love and have six picks in the 2018 NBA Draft from which to make it happen.

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Though it may only cost a high second-round pick to get a deal done, as Korver is far from a perfect fit on a James-less Cavaliers squad, the Philadelphia 76ers run an offense that’s almost tailor-made for Kyle Korver’s skill set, and could present him with a perfect situation to close out his NBA career where it began.