Trade Proposal Sends Hawks’ Larry Nance Jr. To Thunder

One NBA analyst proposed that the Oklahoma City Thunder acquire Larry Nance Jr. from the Atlanta Hawks. 

Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints proposed the following mock trade between the Thunder and Hawks:

Oklahoma City Thunder receive: F/C Larry Nance Jr.

Atlanta Hawks receive: F Kenrich Williams, F Ousmane Dieng, ATL 2025 2nd Round Pick, OKC 2027 2nd Round Pick

The Hawks acquired Nance Jr. from the New Orleans Pelicans in the Dejounte Murray trade.

According to NBA insider Marc Stein, several teams are interested in acquiring Nance Jr. from Atlanta. 

Nance Jr. averaged 5.7 points, 5.0 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 1.0 steals and 0.3 blocks in 2023-24 for the Pelicans while shooting 57.3% from the field, 41.5% from 3 and 77.0% from the foul line. He’ll make $11.3 million next season in the final year of his contract. 

Nance Jr. has career averages of 7.7 points, 6.2 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 1.2 steals and 0.5 blocks with the Los Angeles Lakers, Cleveland Cavaliers, Portland Trail Blazers and Pelicans. He was the 27th overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft.

“Nance has just one more year left on his contract and is set to make $11.3 million during the 2024-25 season,” Siegel wrote. “Over the years, he has proven to be a solid defensive option in the frontcourt, as well as a strong interior presence as a rebounder. While he is oftentimes utilized as a power forward, Nance has the ability to be his team’s center in small-ball rotations.

“Any team searching for rebounding help this offseason is going to have interest in trading for Nance, especially since he is affordable from a contract perspective. Even after adding Isaiah Hartenstein, the Thunder could utilize another frontcourt presence like Nance due to his defensive and rebounding tendencies. The best part about pursuing Nance is that Sam Presti wouldn’t really have to give up much.”

The Thunder lost to the Dallas Mavericks in the second round of the 2024 playoffs in six games, while the Hawks missed the postseason.