Larry Nance Jr. – Cleveland Cavaliers
Andre Drummond seems like the most likely player to be on the move from Cleveland since he is in the final year of his contract, but Larry Nance Jr. is a player a bunch of playoff caliber teams have been eyeing recently. The 28-year old forward is now in his 6th season in the league and has been out since February 6th with a fractured finger.
With him expected to be 100% to start the second half of the season, the Toronto Raptors should definitely consider adding Larry Nance Jr. to their frontcourt. Not only is he an extremely versatile big man, but he is a guy that can play in numerous rotations at numerous positions.
As of right now, the Cleveland Cavaliers have not made their intentions clear on whether or not they want to “sell” a bunch of their players, but Larry Nance Jr. would definitely come at a high-price on the trade market. He has consistently been getting better and tougher as an interior rebounder and given what he can do in the paint, the Raptors would have to be willing to give up a fair amount of assets to acquire him.
Bringing in Larry Nance Jr. not only gives the Raptors a strong rebounder, something they desperately need, but a frontcourt player who is comfortable guarding virtually anybody. Nance Jr. has always been a really solid defender and one of his better attributes is his ability to disrupt passing lanes and cause turnovers. He is averaging 1.9 steals per game this season and is very active defensively.
RELATED: NBA Trade Rumors: Here are the many teams interested in trading for Larry Nance Jr.
Adding a player like Larry Nance Jr. not only improves the Raptors’ overall roster and gives them yet another highly-skilled player, but it gives them a player who can play 30+ minutes a night next to Siakam in the frontcourt.
Seeing as the Cavaliers really like Nance’s upside and have not made him available in trade talks, they could ask for a lot of value in-return for him, which could prevent Toronto from trading for him. Andre Drummond and Larry Nance Jr. remain two possible trade targets for the Raptors as the trade deadline approaches.
