Cavs Notes: Pete Nance, Luke Travers, Free Agency

Former Cavaliers and current Pelicans forward Larry Nance Jr. said he is grateful younger brother Pete Nance is getting an opportunity in Cleveland.

Larry Jr. and Pete are the sons of Cavs legend Larry Nance.

Pete was a member of the Cavs’ summer squad in Las Vegas after going undrafted out of North Carolina. His college career started at Northwestern, and like Larry Jr., Pete is a native of Akron and played at Revere High School in Bath, Ohio.

Nance Jr. was in Las Vegas not only to watch the Pelicans squad earlier this month, but also to take in some games involving Pete and the Cavs.

“We talk all the time,” Nance Jr. said on the Wine and Gold Talk podcast. “Going into summer league, I think the biggest thing I told him was, he had such momentum, coming off obviously a rough college season, but then the momentum he built going into draft workouts and then being (at the NBA Combine) in Chicago training for it, just carrying that over into summer league was great. Just go be aggressive, shoot your shots when you decide you want to shoot them and play your game.”

There’s a good chance that Pete Nance will be in training camp with the Cavs in early October, and could end up getting an opportunity with the Cleveland Charge of the G League.

Pete Nance is 6-foot-11 and spent four years at Northwestern before transferring to North Carolina as a fifth-year senior. With the Tar Heels, he averaged 10.0 points and 6.0 rebounds in 30 games, shooting 42 percent from the field and 82 percent from the free-throw line.

Travers Staying in Australia

Guard/forward and former second-round pick Luke Travers will spend another season in Australia, he told Code Sports, via Cavaliers Nation.

Travers, 21, is 6-foot-6 and spent the past four years with the Perth Wildcats before signing with the Melbourne United, both of Australia’s NBL. He averaged 9.8 points and 5.6 rebounds last season, before joining the Cavs’ summer squad.

 “The talk is just one more year (in the NBL) and hopefully it’s a good one,” he said. “To be able to come back, it’s what I wanted to do to continue to develop my game in Melbourne and I’m coming here to win. Coming over here, there’s a lot of clarity. They (Cleveland and Melbourne United) have been awesome about it, so getting that (uncertainty) out of the way makes everything else easier.”

Free Agency Talk

As we relayed here, the Cavs are active on the free-agent market and expected to remain that way ahead of training camp.

Along with a host of others, they have registered interest in guard/forward Kelly Oubre (Hornets) and center/forward Christian Wood (Mavericks), per Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. Signing either of those players, of course, would be considered a splash.

But sources told Hoops Wire the Cavs, if they sign anyone, are more likely to add a lower-profile veteran who would come cheaper. They are believed to be focused on adding another inside player.