Cavs Trade Larry Nance Jr To Blazers, Land Bulls’ Lauri Markkanen

The Cavaliers are acquiring free agent forward Lauri Markkanen from the Bulls in a three-team sign-and-trade arrangement that will send Larry Nance Jr. to the Trail Blazers, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

In addition, the Bulls will receive  small forward Derrick Jones Jr., a Blazers’ protected first-round pick and a Cavs’ second-rounder.

Markkanen will receive a four-year deal worth $67 million from the Cavs, Wojnarowski added.

Per Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com, only $6 million of the $18 million in the deal’s final year is guaranteed.

Markkanen, 24, is 7-foot-0 and averaged 13.6 points and 5.3 rebounds in 51 games last season. He also shot a career-high 48 percent from the floor. He had made it clear that he was hoping to find a new team, as questions abounded whether he was a fit in Bulls coach Billy Donovan‘s system.

“We have offers from several different teams,” Markannen told French journalist Antti-Jussi Sipila last month. “I want a fresh start to my NBA career somewhere else.”

Now, he is getting one in Cleveland.

As Wojnarowski wrote, Markkanen “arrives with a reshaped Cavaliers lineup that includes No. 3 overall pick Evan Mobley and center Jarrett Allen, owner of a new $100 million contract extension.”

Nance, 28, is 6-7 and a native of Akron, Ohio, near Cleveland. He is the son of a franchise legend and been a fan favorite since coming to the Cavs in 2018. He averaged 9.3 points and 6.7 rebounds last season, but injuries limited him to 35 games.

Along with getting an athletic presence at forward/center, the Blazers will be receiving a player in Nance who can defend all three frontcourt positions.

Like Markkanen, Nance had been the subject of trade rumors for much of the offseason, with contenders said to be calling the Cavs in hopes of working out some sort of deal. Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic wrote back in July that Nance was “widely believed to be available,” with Legion Hoops calling Nance “a name to watch” on the trade front.

“Nance will probably never average 15 points and 10 rebounds a game,” Terry Pluto of Cleveland.com wrote. “But he is one of the few Cavs who wants to defend. He loves playing here. I’d be reluctant to trade him.”

But he should fit in well with a Blazers lineup that includes star guards Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum.

“Nance is a versatile defender and promises to have a significant impact on a Portland roster determined to improve defensively under new coach Chauncey Billups,” Wojnarowski wrote.

Interestingly, Nance attended Revere High School in Bath, near Akron, and McCollum played his high school basketball at GlenOak nearby Canton.

Jones, 24, is a 6-5 lefty and former Slam Dunk champion who spent his first four years with the Suns and Heat. Last season was his first with the Blazers. He averaged 6.8 points and 3.5 rebounds in 58 games.

Stay tuned to Hoops Wire throughout the day for much more on this trade.