Korver undergoes 'successful' surgery News Utah Jazz

Veteran swingman Kyle Korver is recovering from what the Jazz deemed to be both "minor" and "successful" surgery to remove scar tissue from his right, shooting wrist. The procedure, according to the team, was performed by Dr. Andrew Weiland on Monday in New York City. Korver injured the wrist when he fell on it, and as a result he missed four games in November. The injury continued to bother him over the ensuing several months, but the Jazz's backup shooting guard still wound up in playing in 78 of 82 regular-season games. He averaged 9.0 points and 3.3 rebounds per game, hitting 43.8 percent from the field (his lowest shooting percentage since the 2005-06 season) and 38.6 percent from 3-point range (his second-lowest percentage from behind the long-distance line in six NBA seasons). Korver will be re-examined by Weiland in two weeks, and a time frame for his full recovery will be provided then.

Korver's agent, Jeff Schwartz, did not return a telephone call to discuss the injury and how it might impact his client's offseason plans. The 28-year-old has one season remaining on his current contract, but he also has until June 30 to decide if he wants to terminate the contract early and enter the NBA's summer shopping market as an unrestricted free agent. Jazz ownership head Greg Miller told KSL-TV Ch. 5 on Sunday that the team's intent "is to do everything we can to keep" Korver in Utah. But Korver sent out mixed signals when discussing those plans last week with a radio station in Iowa, the state in which he was raised. On one hand, Korver seemed to indicate he does plan to become a free agent this offseason, telling KXNO 1460-AM in Des Moines this: "I'm not trying to leave Utah because I don't like it, I don't like the team. You know, at the end of the day it's a business decision. ... I mean, obviously money doesn't make you happy. But you've got to see what else is out there. "There's a few teams that would probably be a pretty good fit for me that my agent will talk to and see how interested they are, and if they would like to do something this summer. And, you know, you've got to kind of listen to that." Since Korver still is under contract, his agent technically is not allowed to talk to other teams about him ? meaning he would have to opt out before testing the market. Some agents, however, are able to get around that and gauge interest anyway by working through intermediaries. On the other hand, meanwhile, Korver also suggested that he might play out next season in Utah and become a free agent in 2010, saying this to the same radio station: "But, you know, the next summer is the summer where everyone is a free agent. You know, there's gonna be a lot of moves. "You kind of see where a lot of these superstars are gonna be moving teams, and, you know, it would fun to be kind of a complement player to some of these guys that are moving around." Newly crowned NBA MVP LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers headlines a class of star free agents in 2010. E-mail: tbuckley@desnews.com