CLEVELAND — Editor's Note: The above video is from a previously published story
The Cleveland Cavaliers have reportedly agreed to a three-team deal that will send Larry Nance Jr. to Portland and bring in Bulls forward Lauri Markkanen.
The deal was first reported by Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium.
According to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, while the Cavaliers will acquire Markkanen, Chicago will receive Derrick Jones Jr., Portland's 2022 lottery protected first-round pick and the Cavs’ 2023 second-round pick. The Blazers will get the 28-year-old Nance.
Markkanen, a restricted free agent, will come to Cleveland in a sign-and-trade package. According to Wojnarowski, the 24-year-old will receive a four-year, $67 million deal. The 7'0" native of Finland averaged 13.6 points and 5.3 rebounds per game for the Bulls in 2020-21 and shot 40% from 3-point range. He will be part of a reshaped frontcourt for the Cavaliers that includes first-round draft pick Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen, who the team signed to a long-term deal this summer.
Nance spent parts of four seasons playing for his hometown team after being acquired from the Lakers in 2018. The Summit County native and son of Cavs legend Larry Nance Sr. was limited to just 35 games in 2020-21 due to injuries, including a fractured thumb. During his seven-year NBA career, Nance has posted averages of 8.3 points and 6.7 rebounds per game.
Off the court, Nance was nominated for the NBA Cares Community Assist Award as a result of his efforts to raise money for local businesses in Northeast Ohio that have been impacted by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. For each game this past season, Nance wore a t-shirt or other apparel from a local business on his way into the arena to raise awareness and auctioned off his game-worn jerseys with proceeds going to that business.
This is a developing story. Stay with 3News for more details as they become available.
3News' Ben Axelrod contributed to this story
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