CLEVELAND (AP) — Kyle Korver is getting another shot with a contender.The Cleveland Cavaliers have agreed to trade Korver, one of the best deep outside shooters in NBA history, to the Utah Jazz, a person familiar with the deal told The Associated Press on Wednesday.In exchange for Korver, the Cavs will get guard Alec Burks — and his expiring contract — along with two future second-round draft picks, according to the person who spoke on condition of anonymity because the swap has to be approved by the NBA. The trade might not become official until Thursday.For Korver, Cleveland will get Utah's 2020 second-round selection along with Washington's 2021 second-rounder. The Cavs also receive an asset in Burks' expiring contract worth $11.2 million, something they might be able to use in another deal."I was surprised," Jazz star Donovan Mitchell said of the deal that was agreed to shortly before Utah's 101-91 victory in Brooklyn. "AB is my guy. He is really a funny dude. He is always keeping a... [More]

CLEVELAND (AP) — Kyle Korver is getting another shot with a contender.The Cleveland Cavaliers have agreed to trade Korver, one of the best deep outside shooters in NBA history, to the Utah Jazz, a person familiar with the deal told The Associated Press on Wednesday. In exchange for Korver, the Cavs will get guard Alec Burks — and his expiring contract — along with two future second-round draft picks, according to the person who spoke on condition of anonymity because the swap has to be approved by the NBA. The trade might not become official until Thursday.For Korver, Cleveland will get Utah's 2020 second-round selection along with Washington's 2021 second-rounder. The Cavs also receive an asset in Burks' expiring contract worth $11.2 million, something they might be able to use in another deal.ESPN first reported the sharpshooting Korver is on the move.The Cavs are just 4-14 in their first season since LeBron James left again. They began this season thinking they could compete for a playoff... [More]

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Bringing back a roster virtually unchanged from the end of last season isn't intended to be a sign that the Utah Jazz have embraced the status quo.The Jazz want to send a much different message.This is a team eager to prove last season's strong finish was simply a snapshot of a climb toward becoming an elite team. One thing is certain: Utah will not be sneaking up on anyone this time around, so an even better encore performance will be needed."That focus for me is maybe the unspoken thing when you talk about a team that has guys back and all of that," coach Quin Snyder said. "I want to see them get better. I want to see guys get better individually and I want to see us collectively get better."Donovan Mitchell lessened the blow of Gordon Hayward's departure, averaging a team-high 20.5 points per game during a breakout rookie season. He was even better in the playoffs, averaging 28.5 points on 46.2 percent shooting to help power a first-round series win over Oklahoma... [More]

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Utah didn't make any major offseason moves but fans shouldn't mistake that for a sign the Jazz are satisfied with the status quo.With the start of training camp, Utah players and coaches are echoing the same message: Continuity doesn't equal complacency.The Jazz are focused on maximizing potential they showed toward the end of last season — with a roster that has returned mostly intact — once the regular season starts in mid-October."I don't want to pick up where we left off," coach Quin Snyder told reporters at the team's media day Monday. "That implies it's the same group beginning to do something. This is a new journey. We can take with us the experience. We can take with us the chemistry and the things we learned. But this is a new team."Nothing encapsulates that attitude better than the work various Jazz players have put in while preparing for the season.Derrick Favors and Jae Crowder dropped weight over the summer to improve their mobility and quickness in operating... [More]

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Thunder defensive stopper Andre Roberson is inching closer to being able to play.The Oklahoma City swingman missed the second half of last season with a ruptured left patellar tendon. He expects to be cleared for contact soon and back to full speed "around December.""There's a return to basketball and there's a return to performance, being back to my elite self on the defensive end and me just being cleared to play basketball is two different things," he said Monday at media day. "And it's going to be a process to kind of get back to where I was, just me being comfortable with my leg again and me getting back into the rhythm of basketball sitting out so long."General manager Sam Presti shied away from a timetable when asked about Roberson last week."I can't tell you exactly when that's going to be," Presti said. "We don't think we're going to be without him very long, but again, this is medicine. This is human performance. This is body. So sitting up here saying, 'This... [More]

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Upon hearing that power forward Derrick Favors was returning to Utah, his Jazz teammates Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert reacted by quickly making similar requests.They want him to buy dinner.Favors surely can do that now.With the NBA still processing the ramifications of LeBron James going to the Los Angeles Lakers and more than $1 billion in new deals getting struck on the first full day of free agency, deals continued Monday — and Favors was one of the day's big winners. He agreed to a two-year, $36 million deal to return to the Jazz, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press."Let's get it!!!" Favors wrote on Twitter, not long after news of the deal broke.The Jazz went to Atlanta over the weekend to sit down with Favors, and Utah general manager Dennis Lindsey had said going into the negotiating period that the team felt good about retaining all three of their free agents — Favors, Dante Exum and Raul Neto.The biggest domino in that trio... [More]

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Ongoing roster turnover from one season to the next forced Grayson Allen to become a basketball chameleon at Duke. He adapted to changes as they occurred and took on a new role each season.Those experiences helped Allen get ready for whatever role is required of him as he embarks on his rookie season with the Utah Jazz."I've never been just a single focal point of an offense since I've been in college," Allen said during his introductory news conference Wednesday. "I know how to play with other talented guys. I know how to play with other really good guys and that's what you're going to have to do in the NBA, especially coming in as a rookie and coming into a team who's already a playoff team."Allen had to adapt his game over four seasons with the Blue Devils as he adjusted to the influx of one-and-done prospects. Nine different teammates were first round NBA draft picks and four others were second-rounders.The turnover opened the door for Allen to go from being a... [More]