Larry Nance Jr. is loved by the fans in Cleveland. His dad was a beloved player for the organization so it’s no shock that the Cavs were enamored with acquiring him. Nance was brought over from the Lakers along with Jordan Clarkson in exchange for a first round pick, Isaiah Thomas, and Channing Frye. Now Nance will be kept for the long haul after the two parties agreed to a 4-year, $45 million extension.
Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports was the first to report the news:
Larry Nance has reached a four-year, $45 million extension with Cleveland, league sources tell Yahoo Sports.
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) October 15, 2018
I’m shocked that Cleveland went to this effort to extend Nance. Thus far, Nance has not shown that he is worth more than $10 million per year. The good news is Nance Jr. averaged career highs with 8.7 points, 6.8 rebounds, and a .581 field goal percentage. Really, he is nothing more than a high energy guy. The Cavs only played Nance 15.4 minutes per game this postseason.
The awful thing about this is the trade with the Lakers sealed the way for LeBron to sign with Los Angeles. Why is no one talking about this? The Cavs agreed to eat the ugly Jordan Clarkson contract that ended up clearing cap space for the Lakers to net LeBron. What’s even more hilarious is the fact that Isaiah Thomas actually thought he was going to stick on the Lakers roster! What an idiot! The second LeBron signed there, IT was out of there.
Nance, 25, has to keep growing to earn this lofty extension. Cleveland was already capped out prior to the extension so I guess that’s what Cleveland was thinking. Nance’s biggest impact came on the defensive end of the floor. The Cavs had a 102.7 defensive rating during his time on the floor, compared to a 110.9 mark when nance sat on the bench.
