Report: Cavs Nearly Pulled Trigger on Markelle Fultz Before Trading Kyle Korver

On Wednesday, the Cleveland Cavaliers traded Kyle Korver to the Utah Jazz for Alec Burks and a pair of second-round picks.

Although the Jazz were the type of competitor Korver was looking for, the Cavs were thinking about dealing the sharpshooter to the Philadelphia 76ers. According to Keith Pompey of Philly.com, the Cavs were contemplating taking a chance on guard Markelle Fultz:

“That was the word coming out of Cleveland, as the Cavaliers were interested in taking a chance on the 2017 first overall pick before trading Kyle Korver to the Utah Jazz on Wednesday, sources said.”

Fultz, 20, hasn’t had the best start to his NBA career. After being the illustrious No.1 overall pick in the 2017 draft, the guard has been plagued by shooting struggles and a mysterious shoulder injury. Although Fultz came back healthier this season, the University of Washington product is only averaging 8.2 points and 3.1 assists on 42 percent shooting from the field and 29 percent shooting from downtown.

While the unknown shoulder issue is preventing teams like the Cavs to not trade for Fultz, the prospect still has a ton of potential. The 6-foot-4 guard put up 23.2 points, 5.9 assists and 5.7 rebounds in his one year at the University of Washington.

Despite not trading for Fultz, the Cavs got a good player in Alec Burks, who is currently averaging 8.4 points per game. In addition, the two future draft picks the Cavs received gives the team flexibility to add to its growing youth movement, or package it in a trade for a better player or higher draft pick.