Cavs Move Larry Nance Jr. to Portland; Sign Lauri Markkanen to 4-year deal
2021-08-27Big moves today in Cleveland. Koby Altman traded Larry Nance, Jr. to the Portland Trailblazers and sent out a 2023 second-round pick (acquired in the JaVale McGee-for-Isaiah Hartenstein trade last year) to the Chicago Bulls.
Incoming from Chicago is power forward Lauri Markkanen and his new contract, a four-year, $67 million deal, money which is guaranteed through 2023-24.
CtB recently had a podcast tribute to Nance, a conversion unsubtly titled “Never Trade Larry,” recorded at a moment prior to the emergence of the messy (or, for optimists, intriguing) questions and logistics that the Markkanen acquisition brings to the Cavs.
In a recent pre-trade CtB rundown of the Central Division, Markkanen was characterized perhaps unkindly as a somewhat passive but still dangerous player:
Markkanen, having lost his starting gig last year, is yet a potent shooter from the corners. And still he seems to be taking it all passively, like the Swedish boxer in Hemingway’s “The Killers,” having gotten mixed up in something in Chicago, lying down staring at the wall, saying only “There ain’t anything to do now.” However, in reality Markkanen is surely hoisting hundreds of jump shots a day and resists the urge to hover over clickbait articles which insist on sending him to San Antonio.
In quick reaction to the trade on the CtB comment boards, Chris Francis notes “virtually unanimous agreement that Nance is the better player, and [concern that] the Cavs just traded for a worse player who’s now getting paid more than the guy he replaced.” However, CLF further observed:
I think one, small silver lining about trading for Lauri is that internally they know Mobley’s a 5…. and went out and got a stretch four (Lauri) that complements Mobley’s game.
What this trade means for Mobley, or, less popularly, for how the organization regards Kevin Love’s role on the team this year (or if Love has any role at all, in terms of playing time), will surely be the subject of ongoing discussion. There may be a duel on the horizon among Cavs: the Blog staff writers, as opinion seems split.
Certainly there is ample data to sift and narratives to be unearthed and built upon, from hard data like 3-point shooting and defensive metrics to the more intangible aspects like what this trade means for Cleveland’s civic pride and the mythical yet as-yet-unproven existence of a Cavs fan base in the forests of the Finland-Russia border region. Thinking like a GM, one could also revisit the Cavs-Bulls game from late March 2021 when Nance and Markannen had quite a few head-to-head moments. Ultimately the Portland Trail Blazers have got themselves a great player, and the Cavs have a new look, new problems, and new opportunities over the next few years.
Irrespective of all that; we are going to miss Larry Nance, Jr., and wish him the best in Portland. The Blazers-Cavs game in Cleveland on November 3 should be one to remember.
The worst freaking part of starting a Blazers blog is how late I'm going to have to stay up to watch the games. https://t.co/ItnyW98B5y
— HoopsDogg (@oldseaminer) August 27, 2021
New pod/article just dropped, if y’all wanna hop on over!
So right now, we look like:
Garland, Sexton, Okoro, Mobley, Allen.
Rubio, Windler, Osman, Markannen, Love.
Deep bench: Wade, Stevens
3/5ths of the starters cannot shoot and 4/5ths of the reserves cannot defend. The only players I see who are plusses on both ends are Allen & Rubio (and the guy we just traded).
yup, JB’s gonna have to mix and match and possibly bruise some egos along the way to make these pieces fit.
Rubio might be the worst shooter on the roster.
Plus in all other areas though.
BUCKAROO — I ALWAYS ENJOY YOUR “SAGE ” WISDOM——KEEP ON “KEEPIN US HONEST “
AFTER READING THAT THE CAVS WORKED WITH LNJ ‘S REQUEST TO BE TRADED TAKES SOME OF THE “BITTER TASTE ” AWAY ———ALSO —–AND I AM JUST THROWING THIS OUT THERE —–IT WAS ONLY A COUPLE YEARS BACK THAT ALOT OF US HERE WERE CLAMORING ( ME INCLUDED ) TO GO GET MARKKANEN ——GUESS AFTER THE INITIAL SHOCK OF LNJ BEING TRADED / TIME TO REGROUP AND HOPE THAT MARKKKANEN TRADE TURNS OUT TO BE POSITIVE
agree and no kidding.
NOMAD bro.. i hear that hopium mixed with de-wormer is quite a ride.. although not FDA approved.. but if truth be told (and uncle buck strives to always tell the truth) there is a small but real probability that the trade works for all parties.. i would probably have made that trade, as the cav-nots have litttle to lose, sometimes, when you are at the craps or roulette tables, and have been taken to the cleaners, you just need to throw your remaining chips into the pot while ensuring that you have one left in the chamber and cash for… Read more »
Agree 100%. If LNJ wanted out, then this puts our decision to deal him in a new light. I am back in. However, it is STILL a dumb trade. And a massive overpay for Markannen. If Larry wanted out, we should have traded him for multiple firsts that were reportedly on the table (late to mid) and stockpiled more assets. Both to try and move up or just fill more holes (SG, SF, backup C). The back third of our roster is @$$. And it also should reveal we are not anywhere close to playing meaningful games again. Else why… Read more »
Bummer. So a guy that could guard wings and was our best or second best defensive player. Face palm. Guarding big wings? Meh…..oy vey.
Love’s agent putting it out there that they aren’t interested in a buy-out. Fun times ahead. He’ll no doubt be a consummate leader from the bench. Never trust a guy who only has a single family-member degree of separation from the Manson family (I kid, I kid).
Also, I don’t blame Love. I’d want paid too. Just going to be a headache as the season goes on.
I’m zagging the other way, if I’m Love I’m actually liking the situation in Cleveland in spite of the past garbage, where there’s better fits with Mobley’s passing and defense and Lauri’s shooting and enough bodies to keep Love fresh for the season, which should help him stay more healthy.
Too bad it’s purely theoretical LMFAOOOO
Here’s hoping. I’m sure he’ll be fine for a while, but I think they really want to force a trade. If I’m a betting man, I’m counting on him eventually throwing a tantrum over who knows what. All those guys from 2016 get a life-time pass from me, so I’m not lighting him up for it… just a bummer and feels inevitable.
yup, 100% agree with the life time pass and it being a bummer and feeling inevitable… really sucks!!!
this was a rather balanced trade and the Cavs never got better with Nance consistently on the team. At some point one has to figure out if a change has to be made, albeit unpopular ones. If Sexton was moved, this site would cheer becuase no one likes him, even though he’s clearly the best player on this crap team the last few years. As I wrote on another post, this vitriol was super high because Nance was a local kid and at least the older Cavs fans like myself on this site, cheered for his dad 30+ years ago.… Read more »
Sexton’s never been the best player on any Cavs team, last year was as close as he got and he still wasn’t as impactful as Allen, Nance, or Garland. There were almost a half-dozen players who were better than him (Clarkson, Nance, Love, TT, Henson) in 2019. And Sexton was quite literally the worst player on the Cavs his rookie season. But at least he’s trending in the right direction, hopefully next year he’s the reason the Cavs surpass expectations. Agree with you about concern with Allen and Okoro though, with Allen trying to live up to a top 50… Read more »
So usually I agree with the commenters on this site, but in this case I think the general consensus may prove to be wrong. I love LNJ as much as everyone else, but he is a super-sub (and great glue guy) on a good team, and his talents are wasted on a crappy rebuilding team like the Cavs. He won’t move the needle for this franchise because we are years away from contention. Markannen is young and I still believe he has a ton of upside – his shooting is elite and hopefully the rest of his game can mature… Read more »
Hey Raffy! Good to see your name pop up! I’d probably disagree with the idea Markannen has a “ton” of upside, he’s already 24… odds are probably just incremental improvement from what he already is. I think the big bet is that Lauri and Mobley fit together perfectly…. Mobley’s gonna be a defensive terror who sucks on offense at least for the first couple of years, but Lauri’s a shotmaker who absolutely sucks on defense… the hope is that they compensate for each other’s weaknesses and they win. Also disagree with the idea that Nance’s talents were “wasted”… he and… Read more »
You make solid points. I guess my general takeaway is that this trade isn’t the disaster that’s its currently portrayed as being. I remember Markk’s first 2 years. He was a 19/9 guy his 2nd year in the league – the Bulls were really high on him. Things soured over the last few years, and some this this is due to the Bulls front office/coaching staff being a trainwreck. Not the say that the Cavs are much better (they not!), but hopefully his shooting ability is better utilized here.
Great point re: Bulls, 100% true about the Bulls front office, although I think they finally got it right this offseason, although many would say they overpaid for Derozen. One thing to watch about Markannen that I’ve seen and heard is that he’s like Love in that he doesn’t really like being just a spot up jump shooter… he likes to operate in the post, then work his way out. His 3pt attempt jumped up a bit and coincides with a fall in his impact metrics. For instance, Markannen’s PPP in post up situations last year was 1.27, ranked top… Read more »
I think the “idea” of Lauri Markannen as a player is better than Lauri Markannen the player.
yup, agreed.
totally agree. I love LNJ too, but he is getting on, and probably only has a couple good years left, and it is time to get a younger player.
Agree that this is not some disaster. People are over evaluating Nance. This is a net zero trade at worst.
Does Evan actually have sources???? Lmfaooo
PREACH IT BROTHER BUCK—-PREACH IT ” !!!—–HAVE BEEN —ALWAYS WILL BE A HUGE “FAN—SUPPORTER ” OF YOU——–BACK TO …………..”MORE BEER PLEASE “
NOMAD bro.. the youngins’ are learning the lessons of fandom in CLE.. where pain is the only constant to those taking regular hits off the hopium pipe.. rending of garments and gnashing of teeth, plus lots of drywall damage, spent vocal chords and ruined relationships with women.. many of them would roll their eyes at uncle buck’s cynicism, ranting, ridicule and contempt.. thinking to themselves, “wow, that buck dude is an addled piece of work”.. “give it a rest” they would mutter to the screen.. but as one of my favorite characters stated, in one of the greatest films ever… Read more »
Hey thanks for the shoutout Adam, great to see you back at it too!
You just gotta do better than Lauri Markannen LMFAOOOOOO… no offense to the kid !!
WTF LMFAOOOO your only tradeable asset and you come away with Lauri Markannen???? LMFAOOOOOOo
Perfectly said. We have a roster full of children, the worst contract in the league (love) and exactly one player other teams covet. And we came away with lauri markannen and lost a pick!!
Man its embarrassing!!!
Smh… for all the Cavs talk about “building a culture”. It’s all a facade esp after the season LNJ had in terms of giving back to the community and being a home-town guy.
And absolutely hate the contract we gave Lauri… just sets this team back even further.
Happy for Larry. At least he got out.
Farewell, CtB, it has been fun. I will go back to rooting for the Hawks now.
I am out on Altman & Gilbert.
Terrible trade. And we pay a worse player more money.
THE CAVS ARE TAKING A “BEATING ” FROM ALL / MOST MEDIA PLATFORMS—-MORE OR LESS CALLING IT A ‘STUPID ” TRADE BY KOBY/ CAVS —-WONDERING WHAT HIS GAME PLAN IS ———-STAY TUNED AND ……….” MORE BEER PLEASE “
BELIEVE YOU ARE CORRECT WEST COAST—-BELIEVE –FROM WHAT I HAVE READ TODAY / RECENTLY—-CAVS ARE IN THE PROCESS OF BUYING OUT KLOVE —WIN / WIN FOR BOTH—HOPE IT HAPPENS
I’m sad for Cleveland, Happy for LNJ. He’s going to be a big contributor on a playoff team. Markkanen shot over 40% from 3 last year. The Cavs desperately need shooting. I think the Finn is actually more a replacement for a soon to be bought out KLove than LNJ. I’ll be happy to see Kevin on a contender too, he’s suffered long enough with Sexton and a tanking Cavs.
Agreed… all the way around, good point about Love replacement too.
HAVE READ —( BELIEVE MIKEO POSTED )– THAT CAVS WORKED WITH LNJ ON WHERE HE WANTED TO GO /—- LNJ HAPPY TO GO TO THE BLAZERS—-THAT EASES THE PAIN SOMEWHAT —-I KNOW I GOT CAUGHT UP ON HIM BEING A NEO KID // WHAT HE HAS DONE FOR THIS COMMUNITY / ATTITUDE / ALL THE INTANGIBLES —–STILL HAVE MIXED FEELINGS ABOUT THE TRADE/ —-HOPE MARKKANEN PROVES ME (US ) ALL WRONG ——–STILL GOING TO MISS LNJ BUT SAY THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING ON // OFF THE COURT AND WISH YOU THE BEST OF LUCK !!!!!!!
Yeah, that was from Fedor on the Wine and Gold podcast today. Nance is exactly the kind of player the Blazers need, if he can stay healthy. They have plenty of scoring, they need connectors and defenders.
Don’t love the trade.
Sucks… gotta do better than Lauri Markannen LMFAOOOO
no offense dude but why do you feel the need to write “LMFAOOO” on every single comment you make? it’s kind of irritating.
Sorry to irritate you Scott, I like to laugh and have fun and don’t want to be taken seriously…. so unfortunately for you, will probably keep doing it! Except this time because I’m a nice guy ;)