Blazers President Neil Olshey Calls Larry Nance Jr ‘Talented, Versatile’

The Trail Blazers have officially announced the three-team trade that landed them forward Larry Nance Jr. in a trade with the Cavaliers.

In exchange, the Blazers sent guard/forward Derrick Jones Jr. to the Bulls.

“Larry is a talented and versatile player that impacts winning on both ends of the floor,” Blazers president of basketball operations Neil Olshey said in a statement. “We welcome him and his family to Portland and look forward to his contributions on the court and in our community.”

Nance, 28, is 6-foot-7 and averaged 9.3 points and 6.7 rebounds in 35 games last season. He missed the end of the season with a thumb injury.

Nance is known as someone who can capably defend all three frontcourt positions, an excellent athlete with an improving perimeter shot.

Both he and Blazers guard CJ McCollum hail from Northeast Ohio, with Nance attending Revere High School near Akron and McCollum a product of Canton GlenOak High School.

Nance will join a Blazers frontcourt that includes the likes of Jusuf Nurkic, Robert Covington and Tony Snell, among others.

To complete the trade, the Cavs received forward Lauri Markkanen from the Bulls and the Bulls received a future second-round draft pick from the Cavs. The Blazers also sent a protected first-round pick to the Bulls.

For more, check out my column, Classy Nance Gave Hometown Cavs His All.