Extension Details

On Monday, October 15, 2019 the Cleveland Cavaliers and Larry Nance Jr. agreed to a 4 year, $44.8 million contract extension. This extension begins in the 2019-20 season and continues through the 2022-23 season. It is fully guaranteed with no options for either party. The extension has a declining structure, starting salary at $12.8 million and ending at $9.7 million.

According to PIPM projections, Nance has an expected value of $36.9 million over the course of his extension, with an expected range of $25.2 million to $50.2 million representing realistic potential outcomes.

This extension lines up with with Kevin Love’s extension, with each player now under contract for the next five years. This covers the age 26-30 seasons for Nance and the age 30-34 seasons for Love. Unless one or both are traded, that big man pairing will be a fixture in the Cavalier rotation for years to come. That being the case, let’s take a closer look at both players to examine how they will fit together.

Fit with Kevin Love

Love’s one offensive weakness is as a finisher, which happens to be Nance’s greatest strength on that side of the ball. They have complementary skill sets on offense with Love’s ability to space the floor, move off the ball and create shots for himself combined with Nance’s screening, rim-running and crashing the offensive glass. Both players can operate in the post, and both have a measure of playmaking skill. Love is clearly the more dynamic player of the two, with a diverse offensive skill set that’s rarely seen in a big man. Overall, they fit well together offensively, though Nance needs to work on his screening ability to become more dangerous in the pick and roll.

The defensive side is where this pairing gets into some trouble. Neither player has any history of defending the interior well, a critical skill for a big man. While Nance is a top tier perimeter defender for a big man, this lack of interior presence limits his utility. It makes him a situational player rather than a full-time starter. That’s okay, as he’s being paid as a sixth man (8-12% of the cap) over the course of his extension. His ability to defend the pick and roll has value in the modern NBA, and Love’s ability to clean the defensive glass pairs well with Nance.

Conclusion

Nance is a unique player. In certain situations he is quite valuable, particularly in the switch-heavy modern NBA. In other situations his skill set is marginalized to a significant degree. He’s a good fit with Love in most respects. However, in perhaps the most critical big man skill both players are found wanting. The Cavaliers’ interior defense has been a problem area for nearly a decade. It appears that issue will continue to nag them a while longer.

Special thanks to:

• Akshay Ram (@ByAkshayRam) for the header image
• Jeff Siegel (@jgsiegel) for salary cap assistance via his web site, Early Bird Rights.
• Jacob Goldstein (@JacobEGoldstein) for PIPM projected value.