Larry Nance Jr. Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Central Notes: Love, Pacers, Forman, Nance

March 20th, 2020 at 6:46pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Cavaliers continue to value Kevin Love highly and don’t regret giving him a four-year, $120MM contract extension, according to Chris Fedor of the Clev eland Plain Dealer. Love’s attitude and play improved once J.B. Bickerstaff replaced John Beilein as head coach after the All-Star break. The Cavs don’t feel the need to dump salary this offseason, Fedor continues, so in any Love deal they’d want some combination of draft picks and young players.

We have more from around the Central Division:

The coronavirus pandemic could impact renovations planned for the Pacers‘ Bankers Fieldhouse prior to next season’s All-Star game, Scott Agness of The Athletic writes. Some work has already begun but the renovations were scheduled to ramp up once the season ended. Phase one (of three) is supposed to be completed before the All-Star Game but if Indiana’s games resume this season and last into July, it could impact those scheduled renovations prior to next season.
Bulls GM Gar Forman has essentially been reduced to a lead scout, Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times reports. The franchise is expected to overhaul its front office once the league shutdown is lifted. Forman will lose his GM title and will have no decision-making authority once the restructuring is completed, Cowley adds.
Cavaliers big man Larry Nance Jr. is especially concerned about COVID-19 due to other health factors, as Kelsey Russo of The Athletic explains. Nance was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease as a teenager. Since the illness is treated with immunosuppressive medication, he is more susceptible to infections in general. “You’d hear every now and again somebody say like, ‘Oh we’re blowing this out of proportion, it’s not that big of a deal.’ And for me, it was like, ‘What?’ This is a huge deal,” Nance said.

Central Notes: Casey, Rose, Nance Jr., Young

January 14th, 2020 at 7:30pm CST by JD Shaw

The Pistons’ decision to hire Dwane Casey as head coach in June of 2018 was the right call, one that remains a smart choice even with the team’s current struggles, Keith Langlois of NBA.com writes.

Detroit has lost three straight games and is just 14-27 on the season, dealing with a litany of injuries to key players such as Blake Griffin, Reggie Jackson and Luke Kennard. Casey was hired after an outstanding 2017/18 season with Toronto that earned him Coach of the Year honors.

“It’s tough because I went through this about six or seven years ago in Toronto, the rebuild we did there,” Casey said, as relayed by Langlois. “I thought I had graduated from that, but we’re back here again – which is fine. I enjoy coaching. I enjoy teaching. There were no parameters put on what type of team it was going to be here. I expected it to be a playoff team and still want to win.”

Casey was hesitant to describe the Pistons’ current situation as a full rebuild, however, with the veteran coach still gunning to compete in the Eastern Conference and guide his players to new heights.

“I wouldn’t necessarily call it a rebuild, totally,” Casey said. “Not down to the nubs, the studs and to the foundation. But of our core, only Andre is still available and I would say Luke would be the other part of that. But then after that, it’s Sekou, Christian, Bruce. That’s the key. It’s shifted to that. Don’t want to call it a rebuild, but that’s where the focus is right now – with those guys.”

The Pistons are 5.5 games behind the No. 8 seed Nets, with Kennard expected to miss another month, Griffin rehabbing from knee surgery and Jackson still without a timetable for a return due to his back injury.

There’s more out of the Central Division tonight:

Pistons guard Derrick Rose has been fined $25K for throwing a pen across the court and into the stands on Monday, the league announced in a press release. The incident occurred with 37 seconds left in overtime at New Orleans.
Cavaliers forward Larry Nance Jr. is set to make his return to the lineup on Tuesday against the Clippers, according to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com (Twitter link). Nance has been sidelined for nearly two weeks with knee soreness. The 27-year-old is holding season averages of eight points, seven rebounds and 24.3 minutes per game in 31 contests.
It’s time for the Bulls to do right by Thaddeus Young and trade the veteran forward, Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times contends. Young signed with Chicago as a free agent last July, inking a three-year deal worth $41MM. Young and his camp initially thought he’d receive more minutes after choosing to join the team, but the 31-year-old is only averaging 22.3 minutes per game — the lowest since his rookie season in 2007-08.

Cavs Notes: Porter, Nance, Love, Exum

January 6th, 2020 at 11:50am CST by Luke Adams

Cavaliers rookie Kevin Porter Jr. has been diagnosed with a left knee sprain and will be re-evaluated in approximately two weeks, the team announced today (via Twitter). Porter’s injury occurred during the third quarter of Sunday’s home loss to Minnesota.

While Porter will be sidelined for multiple weeks, the news wasn’t as bad as it could have been for the Cavs. A source told Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com before Porter underwent an MRI that the club was “bracing for some real time off.”

As Fedor notes in a separate article at Cleveland.com, the second half of the season figures to be mostly about player development for the lottery-bound Cavaliers, and Porter had emerged this season as one of the organization’s most promising young prospects. If his knee injury had been more severe, it might have cost him most or all of the rest of his rookie season. While it appears that won’t be the case, teammates like John Henson were worried when they saw Porter go down.

“It kind of hurt my heart a little bit,” Henson said. “Young guys, this is the year for them. Especially them just learning the game and he was progressing. At this stage of the season he was looking like the steal of the draft.”

Here’s more out of Cleveland:

The Cavaliers are also without big man Larry Nance Jr., having announced on Friday in a press release that he’d be on the shelf for about one or two weeks with left knee soreness.
Kevin Love won’t be disciplined by the Cavaliers for his outburst during Saturday’s game vs. Oklahoma City, tweets Kelsey Russo of The Athletic. We described that on-court incident in a Sunday story.
As a result of last month’s trade with Utah, John Beilein has the opportunity to coach Dante Exum six years after he tried to recruit the Australian guard to come to Michigan, notes Steve Bulpett of The Boston Herald. “It was only a couple of phone calls,” Beilein said of his recruitment efforts. “I never could get the time right, you know, calling Australia. So we kept playing voicemail tag… I don’t think he was ever thinking, ‘NBA or Michigan?’ But we were one of the people that called him. I’m sure North Carolina was recruiting him, as well.” Exum ultimately opted not to play college ball, entering the 2014 NBA draft and going fifth overall.

Cavaliers Notes: Love, Windler, Osman, Nance

November 17th, 2019 at 11:42am CST by Arthur Hill

Trade speculation has surrounded Kevin Love even before he signed a four-year, $120MM extension last summer. Once a part of the Big Three that led the Cavaliers to four straight Eastern Conference titles, he is now the oldest player on a rebuilding team that won just 19 games last season. Love tells Arash Markazi of The Los Angeles Times that he can accept whatever happens.

“I know there’s talk about me possibly being the missing piece somewhere,” Love said. “There’s been constant chatter since I signed that I could be traded. It’s one of those things where I’m going to keep doing right by the team, by Cleveland and by the organization. If my number is called, so be it, but I’m going to stay true to my commitment and let the chips fall where they may.”

Love is off to his best start since coming to Cleveland five years ago, averaging 18.7 points and 12.6 rebounds through 11 games. He has also emerged as a spokesman for mental health issues in the league after speaking out about his personal battles, and admits he can now handle trade rumors better than he used to.

“A big aspect of mental health is just staying in the present but it’s so hard,” Love said. “You have to try to not get too far ahead of yourself or get worked up. You can get that anxious feeling or fear for the future, but you have to try to stay focused on getting better and let things work out the way they should.”

There’s more from Cleveland:

Cavaliers players are excited about what they’ve seen from rookie Dylan Windler in practice, writes Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. Windler hasn’t played since the start of training camp because of a stress reaction in his left leg, but he has been impressive in one-on-one and two-on-two games, as well as shooting drills. He has also displayed a basketball IQ that fits well in coach John Beilein’s system and should get plenty of chances to earn a spot in the rotation. Windler might be sent to the G League first, Fedor tweets, so his NBA debut may not happen until December.
Cavs management showed its belief in Cedi Osman with a contract extension last month, but there’s still uncertainty about what his ceiling might be, Fedor adds in the same story. Osman remains in the starting lineup, but his usage rating is second lowest on the team.“We’ve got to get him the ball more, we’ve got to see him more, run some more action for him where we can,” Beilein said. “When he’s open, we got to hit him when he’s open. We don’t do that well enough yet.”
Larry Nance Jr. was limited in practice because of a sore left thumb, but the team considers it day-to-day, tweets Kelsey Russo of The Athletic. Nance met with a hand specialist yesterday.

Cavs GM Altman Talks Osman, Love, Next Moves

November 4th, 2019 at 2:11pm CST by Luke Adams

While the Cavaliers didn’t reveal any specific details about the contract extension general manager Koby Altman signed on Friday, Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com says Altman’s new deal is believed to run through the 2023/24 season, matching head coach John Beilein‘s contract.

According to Fedor, internal dialogue about extending Altman’s contract began shortly after the Cavs’ 2018/19 season ended. When the two sides finalized that deal on Friday, Altman became the first Cleveland general manger to receive a contract extension since Dan Gilbert assumed ownership of the franchise in 2005.

As Fedor writes, Altman and Gilbert have been in “lockstep” when it comes to expectations and organizational philosophies since LeBron James left as a free agent in 2018. Gilbert hasn’t pushed the front office to make the Cavs as competitive as quickly as possible or set any specific dates for a return to contention, and has been entirely on board with the club’s approach to its rebuild.

“Where we are now we have a pretty clear direction and vision, and I think Dan aligns well with a big-picture, three-to-five-year plan. I think our vision is very, very clear,” Altman said, adding that Gilbert is “super excited” about the future draft picks the Cavs have acquired and the flexibility the team has going forward.

Fedor’s article provides an in-depth look at where things stand with Altman and the Cavs, and is worth reading in full — especially for Cleveland fans. Here are a few more of the most noteworthy comments from the Cavs’ GM, via Fedor:

On the Cavaliers’ rebuilding philosophy:

“We’re trying to build this thing with great attitude, great work ethic, and guys who really want to be in Cleveland. Me and Coach Beilein really align on those values. We’ve started to see some of that. Cedi Osman clearly could have gone into the open market next year and tried free agency, but this is where he wants to be. He feels this is home for him. Same thing with Larry Nance Jr. and Kevin Love. Those are meaningful things for us and those are true Cavaliers.”

On potential next moves:

“We are still in evaluation mode with our team, with the new parts, the staff, the offense, and we like our guys. There’s no sense of urgency to rush to do anything. Last year I think was a little bit different in terms of we knew we wanted to recoup a lot of different draft assets. Where we are now: We have great flexibility, we’re one of four teams that has over $20MM in cap space next summer, so we’re not in any rush to do anything drastic.”

On Kevin Love and his four-year contract extension:

“He knew this was going to be a process,. He knew we were going to bring in some younger guys. He knew we were going to build. He was all-in for that. … For a guy that is a five-time All-Star, loves it here, wants to help us grow, I don’t know how you replace a player that caliber. He’s been great and meaningful to our guys. We are a much better team with him on the floor. The city has embraced him, he’s embraced the city and so it would be really, really tough to move on from him.”

On whether there’s any interest in trading Love:

“No. Not at all.”

Central Notes: Knight, Morris, Brown, Nance

October 6th, 2019 at 2:31pm CST by clarkcrum

Cavaliers point guard Brandon Knight, an NBA All-Rookie First Team member after averaging 12.8 PPG and 3.8 APG for Detroit during the 2011/12 season, hasn’t played 60+ games since the 2013/14 season. But, as Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com writes, Knight is looking to bounce back from a series of injuries in what is a contract year for the 27-year-old former McDonald’s All-American.

“I just try to be myself,” Knight said. “I think I stood out just because people haven’t seen me, like the actual me, in over two years. I was really just myself and I think I shot the ball well. I think that’s one of my strengths. I’ve been working on my body a lot, being quick, being explosive. From what guys saw at the end of the year (with the Cavaliers) I think that’s what guys probably thought they would see coming into the year.”

Knight, who estimates it’s been two or three years since he’s had a healthy offseason, has been able to focus more on his game than on rehab while preparing for his second season with the Cavaliers. As part of that focus, Knight has bought some top-of-the-line equipment to help improve his body as well.

Fedor specifically notes that Knight looks more explosive during Cavaliers’ training camp, easily making his way to the basket and finishing at the rim while also repeatedly draining jumpers off the dribble. He believes he’s finally back to pre-injury form, if not better.

“I feel like I’m there. Or even a little bit better,” Knight said. “A little bit smarter, my pace is a little bit better, so I feel good. It’s still early. Just trying to maintain that throughout the (Cavaliers’) season and just trying to stay on top of doing the right things for my body.”

There’s more from the Central Division this afternoon:

Markieff Morris was not particularly interested in the Pistons when free agency began this year, but was steered toward Detroit by his twin brother, Marcus Morris, who played for the Pistons from 2015 to 2017, writes Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press. “My brother told me it was a great place. Honestly, Detroit really wasn’t on my list. I really didn’t look into it much until I sat down with my brother and looked at the roster… It was kind of a perfect fit.”
In more Pistons news, Rod Beard of The Detroit News says that second-year player Bruce Brown has improved his game to become a better all-around player this season, especially on offense, after being mostly a defensive specialist last season as a rookie.
In another article for Cleveland.com, Fedor adds that Cavaliers forward Larry Nance Jr. is thrilled to not be playing center anymore. “I don’t play anymore 5 really. Thank goodness. I’ve been doing a whole lot of 4. A little bit in the post, a whole lot on the wing. The biggest difference between a 4 and 5 in this offense is kind of the freedom it gives you. I think with my playmaking ability that I kind of found last year I think that best suits me.”

L.A. Notes: Lue, Lakers, Nance, Clippers

May 3rd, 2019 at 1:41pm CST by Luke Adams

The Lakers are seemingly poised to make Tyronn Lue their new head coach, as his representatives and the team are expected to touch base today to try to get a deal done, tweets Broderick Turner of The Los Angeles Times.

According to Turner, Lue has been the Lakers’ top choice throughout the process. Although Monty Williams was in contention as well, Williams’ decision to accept the Suns’ job didn’t change the Lakers’ plans — it just made them decide to act now, tweets Tania Ganguli of The L.A. Times.

Selecting Lue as Luke Walton‘s replacement figures to inspire plenty of skepticism and snark, given his ties to LeBron James, but sources tell Joe Vardon of The Athletic (Twitter link) that neither James nor agent Rich Paul told the Lakers whom to hire. Of course, the fact that LeBron would welcome a reunion with Lue, as Vardon notes, was certainly a strong point in Lue’s favor, but the former Cavs coach also received an endorsement from Phil Jackson and impressed the Lakers with his X’s-and-O’s knowledge, tweets Turner.

Here’s more on the NBA’s two L.A. teams:

Responding to a report that Lakers GM Rob Pelinka assured him he wouldn’t be going anywhere before trading him to Cleveland, Larry Nance Jr. tweeted this week to say “that is not the case.” According to Nance, “Rob and I had and still have a great relationship.”
Sean Deveney of Sporting News takes an extended look at the Clippers‘ upcoming offseason, including exploring the team’s potential dream scenario: Signing both Kevin Durant and Kawhi Leonard in free agency this summer.
After his team dispatched the Clippers in the first round, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr raved about his opponents, suggesting it won’t be long before the Clips go from playoff upstart to bona fide contender. “I love their future,” Kerr told Jovan Buha of The Athletic. “I think it’s great for the league and I’m happy for their franchise.”
Earlier today, we broke down the Lakers‘ cap situation heading into the 2019 offseason.

Larry Nance Jr. To Miss 2-4 Weeks With MCL Sprain

January 10th, 2019 at 4:50pm CST by JD Shaw

Cavaliers forward Larry Nance Jr. is expected to miss two to four weeks with a sprained right MCL, the team announced today.

Nance Jr. underwent an MRI and additional evaluation on Thursday which revealed the injury’s severity. He sat out of the team’s contest against the Pelicans on Wednesday with knee pain, originally injuring himself on Tuesday against Indiana.

Nance Jr., 26, signed a four-year, $44.8MM extension with the Cavs in October. He’s averaging 8.8 points, 7.5 rebounds and 1.5 steals per contest in 39 games this season, shooting 53% from the floor. Cleveland currently holds the worst record in the NBA at 8-34.

Central Notes: Bucks, Nance, Turner, Pacers

October 17th, 2018 at 11:53am CST by Luke Adams

As part of their trade for Jodie Meeks, the Bucks received $1.5MM in cash from the Wizards, according to Fred Katz of The Athletic (Twitter link). Taking into account Meeks’ salary, Milwaukee essentially paid $1.4MM for a future second-round pick, notes ESPN’s Bobby Marks (via Twitter). Washington’s tax savings as a result of the deal will be significantly larger than that.

As for the draft picks involved in the deal, the Bucks already owned the Wizards’ top-55 protected 2020 second-round pick. Milwaukee sent that pick back to Washington in the swap, and the Wizards essentially returned it with new protections, per Katz and Matt Velazquez of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Twitter links).

That 2020 second-rounder now has 46-60 protection, so the Bucks will receive it if it falls between 31 and 45. If it doesn’t, Milwaukee will instead receive the Wizards’ 2022 second-rounder (unprotected).

Here’s more from around the Central:

Even though both Larry Nance Jr. and the Cavaliers wanted to complete an extension before Monday’s deadline, negotiations were challenging, according to reports from Joe Vardon of The Athletic and Terry Pluto of Cleveland.com. Agent Mark Bartelstein tells Vardon that he and the Cavs were “still engaged with 10 minutes to spare,” while Pluto writes that Nance had trouble eating and sleeping in the days leading up to the deadline, since he was anxious to get a deal done. The two sides ultimately agreed to a four-year, $44.8MM extension.
Myles Turner‘s new $72MM deal with the Pacers was the other rookie scale extension finalized on Monday, and Turner was happy to secure his long-term future in Indiana, as Mike Williams of The Indianapolis Star details. “I love this city, I love the fans,” Turner said on Tuesday. “I just love how much the whole state takes a pride in basketball. … I can’t see myself anywhere else.”
Gregg Doyel of The Indianapolis Star explores the connection between Pacers president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard and Victor Oladipo, the star Pritchard acquired in last year’s Paul George trade.

Cavs Sign Larry Nance Jr. To Four-Year Extension

October 15th, 2018 at 9:08pm CST by Luke Adams

9:08pm: The signing is official, according to the NBA.com transactions log. The contract is four years and $44.8MM, Joe Vardon of The Athletic tweets. Vardon adds (via Twitter) that the deal will have declining annual salaries, so year one will be worth $12.7MM while the fourth-year salary will be just $9.6MM.

3:55pm: The Cavaliers and Larry Nance Jr. have agreed to a rookie scale contract extension, beating today’s 5:00pm CT deadline, reports Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). League sources tell Haynes that Nance’s new deal with Cleveland is worth $45MM over four years.

Nance, 25, was acquired by the Cavs at last season’s trade deadline as part of a deal with the Lakers that also sent Jordan Clarkson to Cleveland. The athletic young big man struggled a little to adjust to his new team, playing just 15.4 minutes per game in the postseason, but he provided the Cavs with the sort of energy and athleticism that their frontcourt had been lacking.

For the season, Nance established new career highs with 8.7 PPG, 6.8 RPG, and a .581 FG%, showing an ability to run the floor, finish at the rim, and guard multiple positions on defense. He appeared to have a noticeable impact on defense — the Cavs had a 102.7 defensive rating during his minutes, compared to a 110.9 mark for the rest of the season.

We heard all the way back in June that there was “mutual interest” between the Cavaliers and Nance in a long-term extension, so he always seemed like one of the likeliest candidates among the players eligible for rookie scale extensions to get a deal done. His connection to Cleveland – where his father played and earned multiple All-Star nods – was likely a factor in those extension talks too.

While an average annual value of $11MM+ may seem steep for Nance, it’s not far off from the rookie scale extensions we’ve seen comparable players sign in recent years. When I previewed Nance’s case for an extension in August, I estimated an annual salary in the $12-12.5MM range on a four-year deal.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.