3 former Cavs players who are making a big impact for their current teams

While the Cleveland Cavaliers are off to a good start this season, they have several former players that are off to good starts with new teams. This past offseason, the Cavs made a big trade with the Utah Jazz to get Donovan Mitchell and although that’s worked really well so far for Cleveland, it’s also benefited the Jazz as well. They got both Collin Sexton and Lauri Markkanen, and both can be impact players if they put it together.

We’ll discuss Markkanen in a moment. Sexton’s start with his new squad hasn’t been as explosive as Markkanen’s but he’s still getting adjusted. He got his second start of the season in their latest game against the LA Clippers on Monday night. He finished with only 10 points and very little else to help his team. Unfortunately, he’s not been helping much in general either.

His scoring average is down at 12.9 per game and in the last seven games he’s had a negative number when he’s been on the court as far as point differential. He’s had a -17, -20, and a -32 in three individual games already which can’t be very positive. He’s only topped 20 points twice this season as well and hasn’t been a regular starter either.

We’ll have to see how that works out for Sexton as the season progresses, but that part of the trade heavily favors the Cavs at this point. While that part hasn’t worked out for Utah yet the acquisition of Markkanen has been a good move.

With that said, here, we’ll take a closer look at three former Cavaliers players who are making a big impact for their current teams, beginning with the aforementioned Markkanen.

Former Cavs player No. 1: Lauri Markkanen, Jazz

The Finnish native has had his season PPG average up to 22.4 and is well above his career 15.8 PPG. He’s been a regular starter for the Jazz and is averaging 33 minutes of playing time which is also the most in his career thus far (of which he’s currently in his sixth season). His shooting average has also been his best at 54% on all field goals, and he’s averaging nearly 16 shots a game.

He’s scored in double figures all season, and that includes scoring more than 20 points in 11 games. He’s had four games of scoring more than 30 points which includes a 38-point game earlier this week in a winning effort against the Phoenix Suns.

While Markkanen had his good moments in Cleveland in his season with the team in 2021-22, trying to play with two other big men in the starting five, including Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen, was just too awkward. Now in Utah he can use his shooting skill set better and help his team that’s in a more open Western Conference run-and-gun style of basketball.

Former Cavs player No. 2: Larry Nance Jr., New Orleans Pelicans

Larry Nance Jr. played for the Cavaliers for three-plus seasons between 2018-21. After making a stop with the Portland Trail Blazers the next season, after he was traded there as part of a three-team deal in which Cleveland acquired Markkanen via sign-and-trade, Nance landed in New Orleans with the Pelicans.

This season he’s been coming off the bench but providing some good production. He’s had eight games of scoring in double figures that’s including two 20-plus games. He’s also continued to be a strong rebounder as he’s totaled six games of eight or more boards.

His plus/minus tallies have been impressive, too. He’s already had 11 games in the plus department. That type of on-court play gets back to what an excellent defender Nance has always been, and he’s consistently given New Orleans that type of play, along with his quality screening and interior finishing.

Former Cavs player No. 3: Kevin Porter Jr., Houston Rockets

Kevin Porter Jr. began his NBA career in Cleveland back in 2019. He was traded by the team to the Houston Rockets after having discipline issues with the Cavaliers.

Since that time, he’s been better with his discipline and has become a regular starter with the Rockets. Houston is still a lousy team, but Porter has steadily increased his production over the last three seasons, and is his talent often pops on that young squad.

This season he’s gotten his average up to almost 20 PPG. He’s putting up more shots per game as well at 16 per game and his shooting average is decent at 42%. He’s raised his rebounding average also up to six a game as well.

He had his best output this season in his last game on Sunday when he scored 30 points and had five three-pointers in a losing battle against the Golden State Warriors.