Cleveland Cavaliers: The Cavs must feature Larry Nance Jr. this season

If the Cleveland Cavaliers are planning to develop their future core, they must consider featuring Larry Nance Jr. this season.

As part of their midseason retooling, the Cleveland Cavaliers brought in Larry Nance Jr. and Jordan Clarkson from the Los Angeles Lakers along with several other players last season. The Cavaliers, unlike the Lakers, value Nance Jr. and believe he could be their next dynamic big man, just like his father was during the Cavs last elite generation.

Unlike Kevin Love, Nance Jr. doesn’t have a respectable outside shot. However, he should be able to maintain a pretty competent mid-range shot to go along with his out-of-this-world athleticism.

The combination of his mid-range shooting and athleticism make him an ideal player to put in the pick-and-roll. Collin Sexton, the No. 8 overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, is the future of Cavalier basketball.

Not a great three-point shooter, Sexton will also be asking to operate in the pick-and-roll in order to create mismatches that he can then expose. Who better run it with than Larry Nance? For that reason, the Cavs should feature Nance Jr. offensively this season.

Nance Jr. scored a career-high 8.9 points per game in his 24 games in Cleveland. Of those shots, he shot around 55% from within three feet of the basket.

However, his third most frequently shot range was between 16 feet and the three-point line.

Of those shots, he made 50%. Not bad, Larry.

If he can continue that trend, it should be easy for coach Lue and his staff to play him both big minutes and in big minutes.

A lineup of Hill, Sexton, Hood (if re-signed), Love, and Nance Jr. could be lethal. While it won’t be even close to competing with the Warriors lineup of pure all-stars, it will be able to compete in the East and possible even vie for a playoff spot.

For Gilbert and Altman, competing seems to be the play.

Competing means playing your best players, not just the players that need developing. Luckily for the Cavs, Nance Jr. fits into both those. At 25, Nance Jr. has been in the league just three full seasons and has increased his scoring in each one.

Primed for a breakout year, Nance Jr. needs the opportunity. While in LA, he’d battle Randle, Zubac, Ingram, Lopez, and a few other bigs for minutes. In Cleveland, he’ll have Zizic and Thompson, and if the Cavs as smart as they seem to be, they’ll be playing Nance big minutes over Thompson.

Actually, if they’re smart, they’ll try to trade Thompson given his contract and market value.

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Either way, Nance Jr. will be getting minutes and should become a featured player in the Cavs hopefully dynamic offense.