Goodbye Larry Nance Jr.

[Sir'Dom Pointer]

Dude we traded two first-round picks for mozgov. A first for two guys that just helped us beat up a really hot team from the West is totally worth it. You have to care about luxury taxes to care. As far as I can tell Jordan is making the right amount of money. Shump made 10.

Jordans contract isn't an albatross. If he lights it up like this, he is worth more.

Denver had no reason to trade Mozgov and they played their cards right, this situation was different though. I compare the Nance+JC deal to what we made with Boston before Lebron came back. We gave up tons of assets in order to clear just 10 million of cap space. We could have really pushed Magic, but i'm not mad.

Let's not talk about it though in this win... I'm just happy with the win

It was brought up so I voiced my opinion, but that's about it.

 

[The Red Viper]

Thing is, he obviously plays hard and hustles. And his athleticism helps a lot.

But his game is so much more than that. I am just amazed how smart a basketball player he is.

 

[Sir'Dom Pointer]

I think he can really improve... he has a much higher ceiling that what he actually believes in my opinion.

He has some Blake Griffin in his game, but with better defense. Surely doesn't have the same range, handles or passing skills, but I think he really does have it in his game, he is just afraid to use it or something. I can see that he is a pretty good ball handler for his size, he can definitely pass... I don't know, they look kinda similar on the floor.

 

[MirORich]

Pops had to be watching that 4th quarter with a country mile wide grin on his face

 

[brownsbuck6]

This is not how you rate a deal. We knew he was going to be good...

Imagine getting Nance and JC without adding a pick now that's a A++ trade and it was very much possible. Still, we got good value coming back and i'm very happy to have him as a Cavalier.

It already is an A++ trade. Wgaf about the draft pick. Seriously stop nitpicking everything. It’s exhausting. This was a monster of a trade. A grand slam. Franchise altering. Perhaps championship changing. Who cares about a late first round prayer all things considered.

 

[The Wizard of Moz]

I can't think of one thing Tristan does better than Nance right now.

He's better at giving up points

 

[Sir'Dom Pointer]

It already is an A++ trade. Wgaf about the draft pick. Seriously stop nitpicking everything. It’s exhausting. This was a monster of a trade. A grand slam. Franchise altering. Perhaps championship changing. Who cares about a late first round prayer all things considered.

Someone mentioned the trade and asked about the pick being added and I voiced my opinion, I didn't bring it up myself and didn't expand on it. I didn't want to have a discussion on it.

 

[Ohio]

If Tristan HAS to play, then I probably agree with you. When Love returns though, if Cedi is still playing well, I would love to see Tristan completely out of the rotation. I just really don't think he has given us anything all season. He's not performing well on the O-glass and he isn't the defender he used to be when it comes to switching onto perimeter players.

My 10 man rotation when Love returns (cut Cedi or Korver depending on matchup if you only want to play 9)...

Hill
JR
LeBron
Love
Nance

Clarkson
Hood
Korver
Cedi
Green

Just make sure you stagger the lineup so one of Nance or Love are out there at all times. If matchup dictates a need for Tristan's size, then play him instead of Korver or Cedi.


I am not sure if offensive success is sustainable with our current starting lineup. Hill really doesn't look to score, JR will come back to life, Cedi's jumper is unreliable, and TT is one of the worst offensive players in the league. I think LeBron could use the help in the starting lineup.


But this is all a moot point... there's no way Lue would ever completely bench TT in my opinion, even if it was clear that's what should happen. I mean... Jae Crowder and D-Rose were still playing over Cedi FFS.

Damn, this is the exact same argument I just made in S34.

This is really what needs to happen.

There's no spot for Tristan once Love comes back. In no world should he be getting minutes over anyone else in the rotation.

 

[Benedict_Boozer]

This guy is amazing - love his b-ball IQ. He does so many little things out there and his ability to both switch and still challenge shots is game changing for us. If he tightens up his jumper look out.

 

[MirORich]

It already is an A++ trade. Wgaf about the draft pick. Seriously stop nitpicking everything. It’s exhausting. This was a monster of a trade. A grand slam. Franchise altering. Perhaps championship changing. Who cares about a late first round prayer all things considered.

I look at it this way.

Clarkson was a rare mid 2nd rounder that actually has big talent and had translated that talent to success on the court already in 4 seasons.

Nance was a late 1st, so what, maybe a 33% chance rate of success, that had already proven to be good on the court and had multiple years of nba game tape for FO’s to evaluate

So the Lakers played the odds and took the risk on both of those draft slots that often don’t pan out, the guys actually turn out to be useful/talented NBA players and then LA promptly hands them over to us for a new late round first, with no guarantee for them(or us if we had kept it) that it would have turned out to be a good player in time. All because they’re so mindful of their cap space in both 2018 and 2019(Clarkson under contract for both those years).

Sort of like when the Indians would develop good minor leaguers in the late 60s and 70s and then trade them to the Yankees do they could become stars.

Thanks Lakers!

Oh, and if the deal could have been done that would have better BOTH Clarkson and Nance without a 1st, we would have done it. We didn’t just say “oh by the way, we know you don’t even want this for these two guys but here’s a 1st round pick we don’t really want”

They could have moved Clarkson to a team like the Hawks for a second if they didn’t have the deal from us for both players but a 1st included. If it was just moving Clarkson for a 2nd, other teams would have bit and they wouldn’t have helped us out. He wasn’t a cancer that no other team wanted.

 

[Jack Brickman]

Anyone else still pissed we had to include our 1st for him and Clarkson? Anybody?

I wasn't really pissed at the time. People were acting like Clarkson's contract is awful, but he's only making twelve million. Yeah, the Lakers wanted out of it, but it wasn't some absurd albatross deal we were taking on there.

 

[cavsfever]

I was annoyed about giving the first at the time, but guess what...I was dead wrong. You don't nitpick a transformative trade.

This is exactly why Koby makes way more money than I do

 

[CTownSportsFan]

... Comparing Nance Jr to Tristan is close to impossible, despite how similar their game's are.

Thompson [is/was] a hard worker. But he clearly lacks the bball IQ. So what does he do to compensate? He does hand-offs (rather than pinpoint passes) and pick-and-roll switching (rather than show and recover).

From the little I can see from Nance Jr, he has more options when passing and a higher set of defensive skills. And yes, he can do the same things that Tristan can, but also the things that a basketball brain can offer.

I took the liberty to watch him play the first half tonight, I'm going to list EVERYTHING I saw him do skill-wise that Tristan can't do:

• He can fill the lanes as a big man; right spot at the right time
• He can use his entire body to box out, including his arms
• He can use his arms creatively to get layups and passes
• He knows how to use his physicality (helps to deter his man, including the bigger bodies like Steven Adams)
• He can communicate with every man on both sides of the floor (get them to the right spots on offense and defense)
• He knows where the ball is going and what all 9 guys are doing on the court

Don't get me wrong: I love Tristan as a player (ATM, I think he's still my favorite current Cav). The motor and energy he brings (or brought) is infectious. He works (or did work) hard. And he knows what he can do as a player and utilizes that (knows his limits). But the things he can't do... Nance Jr is able to.

We might see a different starting center soon if this keeps up.

I like your break down of what Nance brings over TT . You also mentioned TT is still your fav . May I ask you to turn in around and tell me what TT brings Nance can’t

 

[TyGuy]

I like your break down of what Nance brings over TT . You also mentioned TT is still your fav . May I ask you to turn in around and tell me what TT brings Nance can’t

Nothing

 

[cavsfever]

Nance is going to be one of the biggest fan favorites in Cleveland history when he plays at home. Add his nonstop effort and blue collar hard work to his flashy dunks to his family connection to the team to his likable personality...people are going to LOVE him.

Not often that you get a lunch bucket hard working savvy role player who is also highlight reel athletic, but he is it