Tag: Larry Nance Jr.

Kevin Porter Jr. returns to Cleveland as active player for first time

“KP [Kevin Porter Jr.] is one of the more talented players I’ve had the pleasure of being around,” Larry Nance Jr. says of his ex-teammate. “He is learning to play the point guard position.”

For Houston Rockets point guard Kevin Porter Jr., Sunday night’s game is somewhat of a homecoming. No, he is not returning to play in his hometown of Seattle. He is going back to Cleveland, the city that gave him an opportunity to play in the NBA. The Cavaliers drafted Porter out of the University of Southern California with the No. 30 overall pick in the 2019 NBA draft.

Porter appeared in only 50 games there, mainly due to disciplinary issues, before Cleveland traded him to the Rockets for a heavily protected second-round draft pick in January 2021. This is Porter’s first time playing in Cleveland since he was traded, as he was out the two previous games due to injury. His only time playing against his former team was a 115-104 win in Houston in February 2022.

One player Porter could lean on during the rough times in Cleveland was Larry Nance Jr., who took the rookie under his wing and tried to provide the best veteran leadership he could. Even though the situation did not work out for Porter there, the friendship and bond lingered.

“I got to be with him in Cleveland when he was like 19, 20, and 21,” said Nance, who currently plays in New Orleans. “Relationships like that when you get to see a kid, see a dude come in and grow, and now he is in his second contract and got paid a little bit. I am just so happy when I see him. Obviously, he is someone I am always, always rooting for as long as we are not playing them.”

Nance also elaborated on the development he has seen from Porter on the court, especially with the transition from small forward to the point guard position over the past two seasons.

“KP (Porter) is one of the more talented players I have had the pleasure of being around,” he said. “Obviously, he is a freak athlete. He is super shifty and quick with all his moves. For him, the biggest thing I think I have seen is his ability to control the pace of a game.”

“He is learning to play the point guard position, and with that comes some ups and downs of learning how to control pace and tempo,” Nance said. “He has done a really good job, especially as the year has gone on of learning when to stop and go and push the pace and slow down. It is starting to show at the end of the year. They (the Rockets) have rattled off a few wins, and he has been a major part of that.”

Porter echoed that sentiment when he heard Nance’s statements about his progress and maturity in such a short time in the NBA.

“That is my guy,” Porter said of Nance after facing the Pelicans earlier this month in Houston. “He was always someone who I could talk to about anything. He checked up on me and gave me tips on how to be a better pro, both on and off the court.”

Porter, 22, is having the best season of his NBA career, averaging 18.6 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 5.9 assists per game. He’s finishing his third season in Houston and fourth in the league.

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Why the fate of the Trail Blazers’ rebuild hinges on the Clippers-Pelicans play-in game

Friday’s play-in game will be as intense as any matchup this year for Portland fans

Only one playoff spot remains out West and the New Orleans Pelicans and LA Clippers are getting ready to go to battle for it. The irony? Their postseason fates are about to be decided by a bunch of guys who wore the same uniform a couple of months ago.

CJ McCollum, Larry Nance Jr., Robert Covington and Norman Powell were all in Portland back in February, stuck in the mud for a Trail Blazers organization that was mired in NBA mediocracy — a team consistently not good enough to make a push for the playoffs, but not bad enough to make the draft lottery.

Portland made sure it wouldn’t miss out on a top pick this year, shipping McCollum and Nance to New Orleans while Powell and Covington went to the Clippers.

All parties have had success.

The Pelicans, behind McCollum, are a win away from their first playoff appearance since 2018. Both Powell and Covington are combining to make the Clippers a potentially tough first-round matchup if they can get by New Orleans. And the Blazers completed a shameless tank in order to keep their upcoming first-round draft pick

But the bigger success comes in the form of the eighth and final playoff spot. Besides watching former Blazers go toe-to-toe for a postseason spot, there’s surprisingly a lot of rooting interest in this game for the Blazers.

Should the Clippers win, Portland will receive an additional first-round pick (via New Orleans), but if the Pels win, the pick stays with them.

Who could have known just how much power a couple of February trades would ultimately have on the league?

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Report: New Orleans Pelicans have expressed interest in trading for Larry Nance

The Pelicans could be looking at a versatile forward in Larry Nance Jr. to help with their playoff push in the second half of the season.

Heading into the All-Star break, the New Orleans Pelicans are in need of changes either internally or externally as they sit outside of the playoffs looking in for a second year running. One of the areas of change could be through trade and one of the players the Pelicans are looked to is an interesting one.

According to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com, the Pelicans are one of many teams that are interested in Cavaliers forward Larry Nance Jr.

“According to sources, Nance is the player the Cavs have received the most calls about. Sources say the Minnesota Timberwolves have been aggressively pursuing him since the offseason. Nance’s old teammate and buddy D’Angelo Russell is a strong Nance advocate. Boston, Philadelphia, New Orleans, Miami and Dallas have also shown interest.”

Nance has spent the last three seasons in Cleveland after being dealt there in 2018. Of course, he spent his first 2.5 seasons with the Lakers and alongside Josh Hart, Lonzo Ball and Brandon Ingram, three key pieces now for the Pelicans.

This season with the Cavs, Nance has averaged 9.3 points, 6.8 rebounds and 3.2 assists in 33.4 minutes per game while playing in 19 games. His 3-point shooting has improved to a career-best 38.1% this season on a career-high 3.3 attempts per game.

In New Orleans, Nance could offer another forward option to open up the court for the Pelicans alongside Zion Williamson. Currently, the Pelicans have just Nicolo Melli, who is shooting 21.2% from 3-point range, as a stretch forward option.

A trade would likely require a healthy return to the Cavaliers as Nance through this season and each of the next two. However, no team outside of the Thunder has a deeper war chest of draft picks to trade. The Cavaliers would have little interest in any of the Pelicans young guards and it’s unlikely New Orleans would give up on Jaxson Hayes in just his second year even if the Cavaliers were interested.

Because of the lack of contracts in the neighborhood of the $11.7 million Nance is due this season, the trade would likely need to be a three-team deal with one of Bledsoe or Redick being shipped to a third team and the Cavaliers receiving a package from that side.

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Cavaliers’ Larry Nance Jr. has a brilliant plan to help out local Cleveland businesses

This is so dope.

Larry Nance Jr. has always seemed like a really cool dude, but he confirmed that with a new personal initiative to help small businesses he announced on Wednesday.

COVID-19 has been a struggle for small businesses around the country. Nance is doing his part to help the ones out in Cleveland who may need a bit of assistance.

Nance is asking people to send him pieces of apparel from their favorite local small businesses in Cleveland so he can raise awareness on them. He’ll be photographed in the apparel piece and will post about the business in his social media channels.

On top of that, he’ll be auctioning off his game worn jerseys this season and donating all proceeds to the small business’s apparel that he’s wearing that night.

“Locally owned businesses are some of othe pillars of our communities. They have bee, and still are being hit hard by this pandemic. In an effort to bring some extra support to them I need your help.” 

On top of that, Nance is donating the apparel he wears back to homeless shelters.

This is just an incredibly cool thing to do and a great gesture to the local community from Nance.

Fans loved it.

Just dope, man. Shouts to Larry Nance. This is incredibly cool.

Larry Nance Jr. is a ‘huge fan’ of LaMelo Ball: ‘Nothing but good things to say about that family’

Despite not yet taking a step onto the NBA floor, LaMelo Ball already has current players in the league rooting for him.

Despite not yet taking a step onto the NBA floor, LaMelo Ball already has fans in the league rooting for him.

During a Q&A on Bleacher Report, Cleveland Cavaliers forward Larry Nance Jr., was asked about the upcoming 2020 NBA Draft and which prospect he would like his side to draft. Nance admitted ignorance on the draft class but did note he was a fan of one specific prospect.

“I’m so naive on the draft this year, it’s hard to pay attention to. I do know from watching I’m a huge fan of LaMelo, I love his play style basketball IQ. I personally have nothing but good things to say about that family.”

Nance played with Lonzo Ball for half a season in Los Angeles during the latter’s rookie season. Clearly, Ball and his family left some sort of a lasting impression on Nance.

Last off-season, Nance signed a four-year, $44 million deal with the Cavaliers to stay in Cleveland, his hometown, for the foreseeable future. Ball, meanwhile, has been heavily linked to the Cavaliers during the pre-lottery process.

Cleveland has not ruled out drafting Ball despite having both Darius Garland and Collin Sexton. In fact, Ball is the top-ranked player on at least one person’s draft board inside the Cavaliers’ organization.

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Steph Curry reacts to Larry Nance Jr.’s joke about potential Cavs-Warriors matchup in NBA’s second bubble

After linking up in four consecutive NBA Finals, there’s a chance the Warriors could meet the Cavaliers in the NBA’s potential second bubble.

The recent matchups between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Golden State Warriors have blossomed into a historic rivalry. The duo were the first pair of NBA teams to meet in four consecutive NBA Finals. Kyrie Irving’s game seven triple, Steph Curry vs. LeBron James and Kevin Durant’s pull up jumpers all highlighted the four-year rivalry.

However in 2020, both the Cavaliers and Warriors are already eliminated from playoff contention. Golden State and Cleveland are two of the eight teams left out of the NBA’s restart in Orlando.

While their chance at another Finals matchup is out of the picture, the rivals could potentially have an opportunity to meet again. According to ESPN’s Jackie MacMullan, the NBA is “closing in on signing off” on a second bubble located in Chicago that will include the eight teams that won’t be Orlando bound.

When the news broke, Cleveland’s Larry Nance Jr. fired off a joke about another potential matchup between the Warriors and Cavaliers.

Via @Larrdn22 on Twitter:

After seeing Nance’s joke on Sportcenter’s Instagram, Golden State’s two-time Most Valuable Player had a prediction for the potential bubble series. Curry commented on the Instagram post with “Dubs in 4!”

Although the cast is different and the stakes won’t be as high, seeing the Cavaliers and Warriors suit up against each other once again could reignite the once storied rivalry.

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