Grading the Portland Trail Blazers trade with Bulls, Cavaliers for Larry Nance Jr.

Grading Lauri Markkanen – Derrick Jones Jr. – Larry Nance Jr. three-team trade: Cleveland Cavaliers

The Cleveland Cavaliers had a much quieter offseason than the Chicago Bulls. The only two moves they’ve made were drafting USC Trojan center Evan Mobley and re-signing Jarrett Allen for five-years/$100 million.

Even before their sign-and-trade for Lauri Markkanen, the Cavs already had the foundations for a strong rebuild in place. With young players Darius Garland, Collin Sexton, Isaac Okoro, Evan Mobley, and Jarrett Allen already onboard, Cleveland has a complete lineup of prospects with potential that mesh well together.

Now, they’ve added some more offensive firepower to the squad. Larry Nance Jr. was a nice veteran who still had room to grow in Cleveland, but his timeline doesn’t match the rest of the team. Their core five currently has an average age of 21 years old, making Nance their senior of seven years.

Veterans on a rebuilding team are usually shipped off for future assets when they a) can nab the trading team a decent return and b) are good enough to positively impact the team to a point that they might negatively sway their draft position. That nails Larry Nance Jr. to a tee.

Lauri Markkanen, despite his struggles under Chicago’s carousel of mediocre coaching, is a prospect still worth betting on. He’s a legitimate seven-footer, is a career 36 percent shooter from beyond the arc on over six attempts per game, and has the size and perimeter skills to take advantage of nearly any matchup.

His defense needs a lot of work, but playing next to Mobley or Allen, as opposed to Wendell Carter Jr. or Nikola Vucevic, will make his deficiencies on that end of the court less appalling.

Still only 24 years old, if Markkanen can develop into a decent positional defender and if the Cavs expand his role on offense, he can continue his growth into a legitimate weapon on offense.

The fact that they only gave up a role player and future second-rounder makes this a no-brainer of a swing for the fences. The new contract that they gave Lauri is the only detractor for Cleveland’s part in this transaction, as the nearly $17 million they’ll be shelling out is a bit much for a career 15.6 points per game scorer on 48 percent shooting with a negative impact on defense. If Markkanen can blossom with the Cavs though, that deal could become a bargain.

Grade: A-