5 ripple effects of the Kyle Korver trade to Cleveland Cavaliers

With Kyle Korver set to join the Cleveland Cavaliers, here’s a look at the ripple effects for them, the Atlanta Hawks and the rest of the NBA.

The final details are still being worked out, but here’s what we know: The Cleveland Cavaliers agreed to a deal with the Atlanta Hawks that will send sharpshooter Kyle Korver to the defending champs for…well, very little in return.

As first reported by The Vertical’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Shams Charania, the Cavs will acquire Korver by sending their 2019 first round draft pick and Mike Dunleavy to Atlanta. The Cavs and Hawks are searching for a third team to take on Dunleavy, but if one is unable to be found, Atlanta will just keep him.

According to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, the Cavaliers will be sending their 2017 first round draft pick to the Portland Trail Blazers in a separate deal. The Blazers will return Cleveland’s 2018 first-rounder to the Cavs.

That separate move allows Cleveland to send its 2019 first round pick to Atlanta in the Korver swap, avoiding the NBA’s Ted Stepien rule that prevents teams from trading their own first round draft picks in consecutive seasons. General manager David Griffin managed to Step-ien around the Stepien rule, as it were.

In such a seemingly complicated deal involving one playoff-caliber team and one championship-caliber team, there are bound to be ripple effects. With Kyle Korver set to join the Cavs, it’s time to take a look at the five biggest ones.

5. Paul Millsap Is All But Gone

Earlier this week, ESPN’s Marc Stein and Brian Windhorst reported that the Hawks were open to trading Paul Millsap, Kyle Korver and Thabo Sefolosha — all set to become free agents this summer — for the right offer.

With Atlanta’s front office afraid of losing them this offseason for nothing — like they did last summer with Al Horford — it makes sense to consider blowing up a team that has no shot at finally getting over that LeBron James-sized hump in the East.

Korver is likely the first domino to fall in what may quickly become a Hawks fire sale.

Though Millsap is 31 years old and expected to opt out of the final year of his contract to join free agency this summer, he is sure to be in high demand on the trade market as one of the most complete, underrated two-way players in the game.

There are plenty of potential trade scenarios that could unfold before the Feb. 23 deadline, but the Hawks wouldn’t have pulled the trigger on Korver if they weren’t positioning themselves for a rebuild.

Though the Hawks currently sit at fourth in the Eastern Conference standings, they have very little hope of challenging the Cavs, Toronto Raptors or Boston Celtics in the playoffs. The next domino to fall should be Millsap, allowing them to capitalize on his current value and accept their reality as a franchise in need of a rebuild.