What might have been ... Kyle Korver, Part II

Remember back in the summer of hope, that would be 2013, that the Nets thought they had convinced Kyle Korver to join the Nets?  It was very real.  Deron Williams tweeted a photoshopped image of his friend in a Brooklyn Nets black and white jersey.  Marc Stein tweeted out that he'd been told Korver-to-Brooklyn was "in the bag."

Now, Jacob Eisenberg of Sheridan Hoops writes about just how close it game, how the lobbying and the lure of the Nets new look made Korver think about signing with Brooklyn.  He spoke to Korver, who is on his way to doing what no NBA has done, a 50/50/90 season, meaning better than 50 percent overall and from three, and 90 percent from the line.

"That was an interesting week," said the 6'7" sharpshooter. "I had played with a bunch of the guys [in Brooklyn] and I have a great relationship with Deron. Billy King was the GM who drafted me. I think there were a lot of natural ties. They had just made that big trade and there was some excitement to go there."

But Korver wasn't "in the bag," despite what those close to him, including his younger brother, wanted him to do ... and despite the best laid plans of Jeff Schwartz, who represented D-WIll, Paul Pierce and Mirza Teletovic, among others.

"I think a couple of people might have jumped the gun," Korver recalls. "I definitely considered it, for sure. But in the end, this is where I wanted to be and it just came down to that."

Money was also an issue. The Nets had only a three year, $10.2 million mini-MLE to offer him, while Atlanta, where he had already played --and lived-- for a year, offered a deal $14 million richer.  So, the Nets turned first to Bojan Bogdanovic, who had an onerous buyout the prevented him from signing, then to Andrei Kirilenko.

It was the second time the Nets had a chance at Korver.  As Zach Lowe reported last summer, it was the Nets who first drafted him, then when they didn't think he could make their roster. Instead they sold him to 76ers (and Billy King) for $125,000, some of which was used to buy a copy machine.

• Kyle Korver admits to nearly signing with Brooklyn in 2013 - Jacob Eisenberg - Sheridan Hoops