Cavs: 3 teams that should have traded for Larry Nance Jr.

3 teams that should have traded for Larry Nance: Brooklyn Nets

Last season’s Brooklyn Nets were heavily balanced to the offensive side of the ball, and they are one of the few teams that can score at such an awesome rate that their defense legitimately does not matter as much. Jeff Green was something of a secret weapon for them, a combo forward who could play smallball 5 in their switching scheme.

Green is gone to the Denver Nuggets, and the Nets replaced him ostensibly with James Johnson. While Johnson is a tough defender he also hit just 25.8 percent of his 3-pointers last year. Larry Nance Jr., on the other hand, brings all of the defensive impact of Johnson while hitting 36 percent of his 3-pointers last season.

Having another player in the rotation who could defend opposing forwards and bigs would be highly valuable, as right now that burden falls on Kevin Durant’s shoulders. Alleviating his defensive workload will allow him to stay rested and able to devote his full energy to offense. Nance can defend anyone from Jimmy Butler to Giannis Antetokounmpo to Al Horford, filling in wherever he is needed.

The Nets hope to win the title next season, and to do so they need the best possible rotation players to fill in during the year and especially when injuries hit. Nance would have been a great choice to do so. Tacking on one of the Nets’ recent first-round picks to DeAndre Jordan’s contract might have done the trick.