Chicago's Hot Sauce Bottle Emptied

Before my dad and I made our trek to the United Center for our one Bulls game of the year in April, we decided to eat at the Billy Goat Tavern's West Side location first.  Among the things present was a souvenir stand.  One t-shirt featured a hot sauce logo with Kyle Korver imprinted on it.  I was tempted to buy it, but as it turned out, my money was best saved.  The biggest reason for such is that yesterday, Korver was traded to the Atlanta Hawks.  With a little help from the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Bulls will save half a million dollars and receive either a second-round draft pick or low-paid player as compensation.

Korver said on a Chicago sports radio program the decision was a "bummer" to him, but to say I'm devastated by this would be like saying I'm upset the Bulls won't be getting Dwight Howard.  Right after the Bulls got knocked out of the playoffs, I said the trio of Korver, C.J. Watson and Ronnie Brewer should be gone.  I've gotten my wish over the past few days.  I've already mentioned my reasons for letting the latter two leave, but here's what I have to say about Korver.  As much as I'll miss Stacey King's interjections of "Gimme the hot sauce!", there was something streaky about Korver's game.  One could argue that the same goes for a whole lot of the Bench Mob, but Korver had a whole lot of that.

While there was no question he could be counted on to take many 3-point shots per game, they didn't always fall, which often crippled the Bulls' offense.  Consequently, some winnable games would get away.  Case in point, he missed all four shots from beyond the arc at the game I was at.  The Bulls lost it by three.  Even worse, he seemed to disappear in the playoffs.  Yes, he knocked down the game-winner in last year's Game 1 vs. Indiana and hit a big shot in the next game, for which yours truly was present. 

His postseason heroics don't go beyond that series though.  Atlanta didn't mean much since the Bulls beat them, but had he knocked more shots down vs. Miami, perhaps things would have turned out differently.  This year against Philadelphia, he was just as invisible.  In the last game, he didn't attempt one shot.  Not one.  Of course, you have to take into account that Tom Thibodeau played him for only five minutes in an elimination game.  By then, even the head coach had realized that his deep threat was about as useful with higher stakes as Brian Scalabrine the entire year (and I apologize to all Scalabrine fans out there for that statement).  The Bulls need more consistency off their bench.

Still, Korver be remembered very fondly by Chicago fans.  He was easily the team's best 3-point shooter since Steve Kerr.  While it's virtually impossible to live up to Kerr's accomplishments in that role, Korver was the best we could have hoped for.  Lasting memories include the aforementioned Indiana shots and the game-winner against Miami a year ago.  He'll most definitely get a standing ovation when he enters a game at the United Center again.  That will be courtesy of two years of memories locked into our minds.  I hope the Hawks provide with great opportunities.  He can certainly be helpful to them.  If he finds consistency, he can be even more dangerous than he already is.  Regardless, the Bulls provided him with the best years of team basketball during his career.  That can never be taken away.