Cavs: Instant reactions to the Lauri Markkanen sign and trade

The Cleveland Cavaliers conducted a relatively quiet offseason. They made one trade to rotate veterans on their bench, made a single draft pick and their only move in free agency was to re-sign their center. Careful, modest moves for the Cavs.

That all changed Thursday when the Cavs leaped into the fray, seizing the national headlines during the quietest portion of the offseason. A classic “Woj Bomb” announced to the world that the last meaningful free agent was now on his way out of Chi-Town and into Believeland.

Shrewd fans of the Cavs knew that they could not afford to sign Lauri Markkanen to a deal that large with their remaining cap exceptions, so to acquire the former Chicago Bulls big they would have to be sending out salary. The details came a few minutes later from the mirror-Woj, Shams Charania.

The second-round pick now in Chicago was the Cavaliers’ contribution to Chicago’s draft equity, acquired in the JaVale McGee trade last season. Veteran forward and fan favorite Larry Nance Jr. will be heading to Portland, and Markkanen will suit up for the Cavs next season.

As we all recover from the unexpected move and process the various moving pieces, here are three quick reactions to the deal.

Cavs: Instant rections to the Lauri Markkanen sign-and-trade: 1. Nance’s defense will be missed

Larry Nance Jr. was without question the best defensive player on the team last year, and was going to be in the mix for their best defensive player this time around as well. The son of former Cavs legend Larry Nance was a versatile forward able of sliding up or down the roster as needed.

Nance had the foot speed and reactionary reflexes to switch easily onto perimeter players, and he often did defend opposing wings in certain lineups. His best spot was battling with bigs, where he was strong enough to hold his own but could use his speed to generate steals or race across the paint in rotation.

Lauri Markkanen is a talented player, but he is nowhere near the level of defender that Nance was. Without knowing how long it will take first-round pick Evan Mobley to acclimate to the NBA game, there is no player on this roster well suited to defend large wings and combo forwards at a high level.

Cavs: Instant rections to the Lauri Markkanen sign-and-trade: 2. Lauri Markkanen will help the spacing

Last season five players standing 7’0″ or taller hit at least 50 3-pointers. Only one cleared 100, and that was Chicago Bulls big Lauri Markkanen. The highest 3-point percentage of that group was 37.7 percent from Joel Embiid; Markkanen blew that away with his 40.2 percent mark from deep.

The Finnish forward is a true markksman (sorry, bad pun) with the height to shoot over virtually any defender. He is perhaps the only 7-footer in the league right now comfortable shooting off of screens and curls, and his pick-and-pop abilities are dangerous.

The Cavs were the league’s worst shooting team last season, and only Kevin Love gave them consistent floor-spacing from a big position; even Love, when he wasn’t sitting out with an injury, shot only 36.5 percent from deep. This team needed a floor-spacing big to unlock lineups, especially ones with Isaac Okoro and Ricky Rubio.

The rest of Markkanen’s offensive game still needs to round out. He’s a poor passer and his upright stance causes trouble when he is trying to create with the ball in his hands. Yet in a league where spacing dictates everything else, his shooting ability from either big position will help make magic happen in Cleveland.

Cavs: Instant rections to the Lauri Markkanen sign-and-trade: 3. Cavs gave up a lot

The Cleveland Cavaliers have likely been canvassing the league all offseason soliciting offers for Larry Nance Jr. He is the kind of player much more valuable to a contending team than to a rebuilding squad like the Cavs. Especially when it became clear that Cleveland was comfortable rolling out the young guys and playing for the future, Nance was on the block.

The expectation was that the Cavs would get significant value back for Nance. The Portland Trail Blazers certainly valued Nance, but a lottery-protected first-round pick plus the slightly negative salary of Derrick Jones Jr. is not a significant return to the Cavs. They obviously didn’t just keep that, but rerouted it plus a second-rounder to the Chicago Bulls for Lauri Markkanen.

To add to the cost for the Cavaliers, they also have to pay Markkanen’s salary. Despite having no other obvious suitors, Markkanen’s camp managed to negotiate a contract of four-years, $67 million, a $16.75 million average annual value (AAV). In the fourth year of the contract, only $6 million is guaranteed.

Reportedly the Cavs will start the contract for Markkanen at $15.58 million. Add in the contracts for Jarrett Allen, Kevin Love and Evan Mobley and the team will be paying $74.91 million to bigs this year, or a whopping 66.6 percent of the salary cap.

The Cavs are now hard-capped due to bringing in a player via sign-and-trade, and currently sit around five million under the luxury tax and $11 million below the tax apron, which the Cavs cannot exceed this year for any reason. They still have 10 guaranteed contracts and four non-guaranteed deals on the books, and will most likely look to add a wing for that final spot.