Cleveland Cavaliers bringing back Akron native forward Larry Nance Jr. via free agency
Nance, a 10-year NBA vet and the son of franchise legend Larry Sr., originally spent parts of four seasons with the Cavs from 2018-21.CLEVELAND — With their options limited in free agency, the Cavaliers have to thread the needle a bit if they want to remake their roster. They seemingly took a step towards improving the bench on Tuesday, with veteran NBA writer Marc Stein reporting they have struck a deal to bring back forward Larry Nance Jr.Nance, an Akron native and son of Cleveland franchise legend Larry Sr., originally spent parts of four seasons with the Cavs from 2018-21. He spent the 2024-25 campaign with the Atlanta Hawks, averaging 8.5 points and 4.3 rebounds in 24 games.Born while his father was still dominating with the Cavaliers’ frontcourt, Nance Jr. blossomed into a star at Revere High School — less than five miles from where Richfield Coliseum once stood. After earning first-team All-Mountain West Conference honors twice in college for Wyoming, he was selected by the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round of the 2015 draft, and spent roughly two and a half seasons there before coming to Cleveland in a massive deadline trade.Nance was part of the Cavs’ vision to reshape their roster for the 2018 playoff run while also stocking up for the future, but while Nance was part of the team’s fourth straight trip to the NBA Finals, the club’s fortunes quickly took a downturn after LeBron James departed yet again. While Cleveland saw itself stuck in the league’s basement, Nance’s overall performance was solid, averaging 9.5 points and 7.5 rebounds per game while shooting 51.7% from the field. In a blast of nostalgia, he even wore his dad’s No. 22, which had been retired by the organization.Following the 2020-21 season, Nance was dealt to the Portland Trail Blazers in a three-team swap that landed the Cavaliers Lauri Markkanen, who a year later would be flipped to Utah in the Donovan Mitchell trade. Nance would be shipped off again to New Orleans six months later along with CJ McCollum (another Akron-Canton native), finding a home with the Pelicans for three seasons before landing in Atlanta last summer. According to Stein, the Hawks chose not to trade Nance at the 2025 deadline, a move that would backfire after he fractured his knee in March.Throughout his 10-year career, Nance has averaged 7.7 points and 6.1 boards per contest. At 6-foot-8, he could provide a massive boost to the Cavaliers’ frontcourt depth, which after Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley sports the likes of Dean Wade and Tristan Thompson. His outside shooting has also improved drastically since his first stint in Cleveland, and though he played just 24 games, his 44.7% 3-point percentage in 2024-25 would have placed him first on the Cavs.Terms of the contract with Nance have not been disclosed, but since the Cavaliers are currently above the NBA’s second salary apron, it’s likely to involve some type of veteran minimum salary. Deals cannot be officially signed until Sunday.
