AUGUST 28: The trade is official, the Cavaliers announced in a press release.
“We are extremely fortunate as an organization to be in a position to acquire another young and talented player with the skill-set of Lauri Markkanen,” said Cleveland general manager Koby Altman. “He has the proven ability to play multiple positions and stretch the floor from the perimeter and, at 24-years-old, we believe his best basketball is in front of him. We are committed to establishing a winning culture in Cleveland that can be sustained over time and Lauri helps elevate that description.”
AUGUST 27: The Cavaliers will acquire Lauri Markkanen from the Bulls in a sign-and-trade deal that also includes the Trail Blazers, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Portland will receive Larry Nance Jr. in the deal, according to Wojnarowski, and will send Derrick Jones Jr. and a 2022 protected first-round pick to Chicago. The Bulls will also get a Nuggets 2023 second-rounder from Cleveland.
The trade ends a long wait for Markkanen, who had been looking for a new team since free agency began on August 2. He will receive a four-year, $67MM contract from the Cavs, Wojnarowski reports (Twitter link), and the Bulls get the first-round pick they were seeking in return for the 24-year-old restricted free agent. That pick from Portland will be lottery protected through 2028, Woj adds (via Twitter), and will become a second-round selection if it’s not conveyed before then.
Markkanen’s four-year contract is valued at $18MM in the final season, but only carries a $6MM guarantee, sources tell Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com (Twitter link).
The deal leaves the Cavs $4.7MM under the luxury tax with 14 players under contract, tweets Bobby Marks of ESPN. The Blazers are $1.3MM above the tax threshold with 13 players signed and will likely be $3MM over once they add a league-mandated 14th player. The Bulls are $6.4MM under the tax and $11.8MM below the hard cap with 13 guaranteed contracts, Marks adds (Twitter link).
Markkanen’s outgoing salary only counts as $7.79MM, rather than the full amount, due to base year compensation rules, Marks notes (via Twitter). Chicago had hoped to get a player in the $9-10MM range, which it did by acquiring Jones. Markkenen’s incoming salary from the Cavs’ perspective will be the full amount of $15.58MM.
Markkanen fell out of Chicago’s starting lineup last season for the first time in his four years in the NBA and played a career-low 25.8 minutes per night. His averages of 13.6 points, 5.3 rebounds and 0.9 assists per game were all the worst of his career.
He had been hoping for a “fresh start” and will get it in Cleveland, where he will likely be the new starting power forward. The trade allows the Cavs to solidify a position of need and gives rookie big man Evan Mobley more time to develop.
Nance, 28, is under contract for two more year at $10.69MM and $9.67MM. He averaged 9.3 points and 6.7 rebounds per game last season and will bring a defensive presence to Portland’s front line. New coach Chauncey Billups has spoken repeatedly about the need to upgrade the team’s defense.
Jones, 24, has an expiring $9.72MM contract for the upcoming season. He averaged 6.8 points and 3.5 rebounds in 58 games last season and adds another versatile forward to Chicago’s rotation.
Here comes the “Does Kobi Altman even know what he’s doing?” comments. Well in this case this question is absolutely warranted.
I don’t think it’s a bad gamble by Cleveland. The team I don’t think did well in this deal is Portland, and the winner in my opinion is Chicago – they got what they were hoping to get.
Larry Nance Jr. is an absolute must have for a winning team. The guy lead the league in deflections lst year,
And lead the league in steals until his injury, is a very versatile player, a great teammate and locker room guy, and is very athletic. Portland got a real one. Enjoy him Trail Blazers
I have texts from one of my buddies here from 2 days ago where I was hoping the bulls could somehow get nance jr in the deal but I understand they wanted the first and an expiring deal, love this trade for Portland and the bulls, sorry cleveland, I’ve watched lauri for 4 years, and you guys just got 3 point shooting Andre Drummond empty stats, however if he can spread the floor some for those guards I guess it could be alright
To bad he has never been on a winning team
Yeah, that is the one good thing out of this trade. Cavs fans can at least see one of their favorite finally win haha.
Why would you think he is a must have for a winning team? He has only been on a winning team 1 year out of 6 in the NBA.
@hiflew
not exactly his fault. he does things that help a team win, especially defensively. his developing outside shooting and passing are a bonus.
Apparently not enough. Thus being dealt.
No he doesn’t do things that help a team win because his teams don’t win. You could say he does things that SHOULD help a team win or are supposed to help a team win, but his teams lose. They don’t play the games in theory. Nance’s teams lose more often than they win.
Do you watch basketball, you consistently say the most Outlandish things. Nance was pretty much MVP of the cavs until he got hurt last year. He outplayed SexLand. They actually won some games to start the season. We’ll see if Hiflew is wrong again, as usual.
I’m glad what I say sticks with you. Whoever you are.
And being MVP of the 3rd worst team in the league is quite the accomplishment, ain’t it. I wonder if he got a participation trophy to go along with his orange slices.
Hiflew repeat: “an absolute must have for a winning team”.
There are a couple problems with that statement, but one is not with your rephrasing of it.
Sexland way to get in there ahead of Sullivan with a solid take. Altman must think he will have recurring injury problems.
Lauri
4 year $67 million is overpaid
His market is $50 million
DeRozan planned to sign with Lakers as a free agent in August 1?
Good for Lakers
Lakers can do
Schroeder and Caruso SNT too
What…?
I think he glitched out and is putting out scenarios from a month ago
Sometimes he just malfunctions and starts talking about scenarios with dudes that got traded/signed months ago it’s so random lmao
I’m so mad right now. Larry was a great defensive player, a vocal leader, and he loved cleveland! Why would you trade him?!?!?
Nance is a player, nothing more, nothing less. His presence is never going to be the difference between winning and losing.
You’ve never watched a Cavs game then. He was the 4th highest in team win shares and that doesn’t do his role justice. In fact, Cavs were 10-11, Nance got injured, and then they went on 10 game losing streak if that says anything.
Teams are made with shooters, not guys like Nance. Perhaps him being the 4th highest win share guy on the Cavs was a big reason they were terrible? Markkanen is a far, far more impactful player than Larry Nance.
So teams are made with shooters, which means there is no room for defensive hustle players? By your logic, any shooter is better than a glue guy because that’s what wins games? I guess it makes sense since PJ Tucker, Craig, Beverly, Mann, Bruce Brown, Connaughton, etc. were meaningless to teams deep in the playoffs? And before you say well they could shoot, so could Larry. He shot 36% from deep last year.
Also, ask a Bulls fan if they though Markkanen had any major impact. While they are telling you no, all he did was frustrate them, all Cavs fans will tell you Nance Jr. was a major contributor on and off the court. The reason the Cavs were bad had nothing to do with him in any sense. At least now in POR he will get to show how valuable he is on a winning team.
Markkanen is soft.im bulls fans and tx u cavs for this trade.i hoped bulls got scottie lewis too…but its ok.this trade made me happy…tx u so much cavs..hahaha
Not meaningless as the 2nd or 3rd guys off the bench. But as the 4th most useful player on the team, pretty meaningless.
@seamaholic
yeah Draymond and GSW are proof of that. Yeash. Nance was meant for this team. Young, athletic and could do a littke bit of everything. It also weakens our depth among our bids where Love and Markken reside and blocks Mobley from starting. not a fan of this trade
How does it block Mobley from starting? Neither Love or LM play the middle. Can’t even find them in the paint.
sdbaseballguy should stick to baseball. You need guys like Larry Nance Jr on a team to win. You can’t have a roster full of guys who can light it up.
The funny thing is, Lance has never played a full season on a team that’s ever had a winning record! He by definition is NOT necessary for a winning team. I’ve watched basketball since Wilt roamed the court, Lance is a blip on the NBA screen. He’s a hustle, hard-worker and those guys are certainly necessary to win but Lance’s absence in no way effects whether or not Cleveland has or doesn’t have a winning record. Heck, I’d bet Portland wins under 41 next season now. The odds seem to infer that.
sdbaseball, “wins uner 41” maybe, because Portland was screwing up right and left before Altman bailed them out.
Sorry but Nance is a minutes filler. If he was as good as folks are making him out to be on this post he wouldn’t have been traded and played more minutes.
@padam
many players are traded because the team felt what they were getting was a better fit. In this case, debatable. But Nance didn’t play more because of injuries but he was absolutely a good player.
his per 36 was 10/8/3.5 with 2 steals pg and 36% 3pt shooting while being a good defender and dunk highlight machine.
Exactly. … Some very unreasonable ideas being thrown around on this thread. Being traded makes you a bad player? Every player on a losing team is a bad player? Any player who can’t shoot is a bad player? (Also, a big who shoots 36% from deep can’t shoot?)
Let’s give some extra weight to the opinions of fans who have watched the player in question night after night, as opposed to those of us who know a player mostly from box scores. Basketball isn’t baseball, box scores miss a lot of important stuff.
It’s amazing how people try to see words that aren’t there. I never said anything about every player on a bad team being a losing player. I said that you can’t say Nance’s skills are necessary on a winning team because his teams have never won. That is not the same thing. Not even close. You can have great players on bad teams, but you can’t have WINNING players on bad teams. Being good and being a winner are not necessarily the same thing.
The Lakers in 12-13 had a starting lineup consisting of Bryant, Nash, and Gasol. I’d say those guys were winning players and they barely made the playoffs. More recently, the Suns were pretty awful the last couple years and had Booker, Bridges, and Ayton all of who I’d say have proven to be winning players. So remind me again how you can’t have winning players on bad teams
Maybe because Booker, Ayton, and Bridges weren’t yet proven to be winning players.
F it. I’m done, ya’ll aren’t going to agree with me anyway.
Padam you think Markkkanon is better than that standard?
I hope Mobley beats him out quickly.
Why?!
Bulls manage to get a first rounder for a guy they didn’t even want.
Yeah…akme are great fo. Very big diferent with garpax…i love this trade
I don’t even wanna think about how those clowns would’ve handled this off-season
I don’t see how Markkanen fits in with a team with already two young bigs. I guess Mobley and Allen aren’t shooters but it’s very puzzling.
Future trade asset for the cavs. That is how I view this trade. If he is a top player around trade deadline they could flip him for young players and more draft picks.
Well, I usually get jumped on for suggesting that a team shouldn’t have 3 starting quality guards. In this case, it is just having 3 starting quality big men. There should be enough minutes for all of them. Especially since no one really knows how Mobley will even adapt to the NBA. Markannen will allow them to bring Mobley along slowly instead of just throwing him to the wolves.
U can get all we guys 30 min a night
Question is what do u do with Love
Real answer : Buyout
Joke answer: Soft rock songs have been trying to answer that question for decades.
What’s also interesting about Kobi is he’s from the high school that is shown in the ‘Welcome Back Kotter’ intro (although it’s based on the high school several avenues away).
This doesn’t move the needle for Cleveland to compete for a title. If anything it’s a bad contract. You had to let Markkanen go. He was going to be a distraction in the locker room this year. He thinks he’s Dirk but he’s more of Illyasova in real life. He’ll keep you in games with shooting but he will also take you out in a lot of games too.
God speed Cavs fans.
Michael Jordan in his prime woud barely move the needle for this Cavs team to compete for a title. But it does give them talent. Nance is a good defender, but Markannen has a chance to be better than that. It’s a gamble, but I like it for Cleveland. Portland looks improved as well. The Bulls got a dunker and a likely high teens/early 20s draft pick. So probably not much.
I like trades like this because I could see it going well for all three teams and I could see it not going well for all three teams. Will be fun to watch it unfold over the next year or two.
They’d have to at least make the playoffs first before competing for a title.
Kind of like the new look Rockets?
Portland received Nance for Derick Jones & a pick is a steal! Wowsers- why would they trade him- big win for Blazers
How did the trade work?
Blazers have traded away 2020 and 2021 Firsts to Rockets for Covington
Now they trade 2022 First?
The Cavs traded the 2022 first round pick. The Blazers traded a 2023 second round pick.
No it says cavs gave up the second while Portland gave up the first
The Cavs didn’t give up a first they gave up the second rounder!
Other way around Angels.
You cannot owe picks to other teams in consecutive years. If the draft already happened you can trade your pick as long as you don’t owe future picks in consecutive seasons.
This is correct. Stepien rule only applies to future years. You could technically trade your first-round pick every year if you do them one at a time.
The trade is satisfied upon completion of the draft. After that you can sell future picks so long as you have them. Not a bad gamble for Portland. Defense is their problem. Cars I guess they get some shooting as Allen and Mobley aren’t that yet. It allows them to bring him along slower as the backup.
The Bulls just got even more athletic, Zo gonna be throwing a lot of lobs this season. Portland is getting the defense they need, but Cleveland doesn’t need another big they drafted Mobley and resigned Allen
I’m hyped on Derrick Jones. He can be another wing defender on a team that doesn’t have that many. He’s super athletic and raw. They needed athleticism on the wing. DJ should fit the RJ. And fun philosophy we will implement next year. Get rid of dead weight and acquire and address a need that we haven’t really addressed since the Pre Knee Rose era.
**run and gun
You say raw like it’s a good thing!
Portland is the winner. Jones was basically the backup at 3 and helpul because Norman Powell is only 6-3 and not that physical. But Nance has played the 3 successfully with hustle. Portland got lucky. Olshey more so.
Cavs will improve if this gets Altman fired faster.
Great move for the Cavs. Lauri is the perfect complement to Allen in the frontcourt. Love & Mobley are a nice duo to have off the bench too. If Okoro & Garland continue to improve Cleveland might surprise similar to how NYK did last season. Health will definitely be a major factor tho bc this team lacks depth
No way lauri start over mobley and love.he suck.i love bulls trade him out.i think love will start and mobley as 4 and 5 backup.healthy love will have high trade value.cavs should trade love in the middle season
Cavs must be pretty sure they’re buying out Love if they gave up and paid that much for his replacement.
…or they think Love can mentor Lauri into something worth paying for.
All I can say is, finally. And looks like the Bulls addressed actual needs with this trade. Now go pick up Milsap and we are ready to compete. This should be a fun team to watch.
Bulls still aren’t good. Adding lonzo, washed demar doesn’t do much to change that they are a first round exit. Bucks and nets are still way better and I’d argue that hawks and Knicks are likely better based on improving from last season through free agency
Impossible to know until this roster has played together for a while
Washed demar is stil much better than any player the Hawks and Knicks signed in FA
Bulls still not a contender but they are prety good.i love akme..garpax suck
How is DeRozan washed? Did you not watch last season?
Washed DeMar? He’s 31 and averaged over 20 last season with a high in Assists.
Cavs establish their front court the next 3-4 years (for better or worse).
Portland upgrades their PF by giving up a pick in the 20s (Kind of an overpay but they need to do something)
Bulls get a first round pick and a backup forward for a guy they didn’t want
Everyone gets what they want in the short term. Cavs take the biggest gamble. Bulls get best haul assuming Markkanen doesn’t become an All star or close to it
Nance is a very nice all-around player. Is his shooting so much worse than Lauri”s? For the Cavs to go through with this trade?
NANCE HAS A HIGHER PER. Higher on-off. More hustle, engagement, defense.
Arturas has the league on tilt! This is a W for the Bulls (& maybe for everyone involved tbh?). DJJ is a better fit for the Bulls than Lauri and is young enough to keep improving and be a guy they can build with. Plus that Portland first could be a sneaky good pick (unless Portland trades Dame they should make the playoffs and the pick will convey, but also they probably won’t be a top team in the west and thus that pick could fall between 15-20 as opposed to the 20-30 range).
I like DJ and Troy at SF, that is a nice rotation.
Djj just a decent to me.but djj and 1st are way better than soft lauri
Essentially bulls now have several different looks to put out there at SF/SG, depending upon matchups. DJ, Troy, DD all provide different shooting and defensive capabilities for different game situations. In recent years the Bulls stockpiled same types of players which made them easy to game plan around.
Awesome deal for Chicago, which also makes me question the DeRozan move even more. Their wing situation is solidified
Portland gave up a lot for Nance, in my opinion, when they could have signed a couple of options at the 4 outright, but he does fill a big need for them there. It does effect the strong depth they had finally built on the wing though, and losing Derrick Jones’ defense there is questionable, while they’re trying to fix problems there, even though they have Covington and Snell now as well. Would like to see them grab one of the remaining pieces at either the 3/4 to resolidify that, and somebody that can guard the guard position
A guarding guard would be a backup “piece” but yes POR could use that. Surely Nance should start ahead of Covington although RoCo will not be happy about that.
Might be a smoother option if Nance was 2nd string at both forwards and gets starters minutes.
Covington obviously at the 3, Nance at the 4
Bas.Ref. says the team usually played Cov 81% at the 4, and eventualy Powell at the 3, to fine success. Jones was the 3 before the upgrade.
Indeed Olshey could have been looking at the on-off column in the playbyplay box to make changes. The worst on-off perfomers were moved, the best stayed, which is not easy to achieve. The 20/21 minuses were traded (Jones, Trent), unbid on (Melo, Hood, Leaf, Giles), or still on rookie contracts (Simons, Little, Eleby, Blevins).
All the pluses remain except Kanter (Lillard, CJ, Powell, Cov, Nurkic, plus Nance). Since that is a short list, and the rookie-scales all minuses, that would indicate trouble. But Olshey has managed the roster okay with plausible starters all pluses… and I am a big critic overall.
Newbies: Blevins, McLemore, Snell, Vital, CZeller, rooks GregBrown, Watford.
This is NOT official. Just saying, not a disaster.
Fair deal all around, except bad team for Markkanen. He’ll be in Cleveland for 2 yrs max. Unless Cleveland adds more playmaking or moves some big men, I see Cleveland sending at a minimum, a 1st rounder for that contract.
So the guy with poor analytics and who could not start for the formerly hapless Bulls is traded for by giving up an actual impactful player in Nance and then rewarded with a ridiculous 4/67 contract no one else was going to come close to matching.
Good job Blazers. Good job Bulls. Thoughts and prayers to Cavs fans. Just as I had feared, it seems your front office is still bad.
Curious why the Cavs gave Markkanen such a big and long term contract. Was there actually competing offers? Unless the Cavs just believe that the best is yet to come for Markkanen. Markkanen does have a lot of offensive talent. Being just 24 years old, Markkanen will be entering the prime years for a player and is already a veteran. Just odd to give such a big contract to a player who has been inconsistent.
So the Cavs gonna rotate Mobley, Markannaen and Jarrettt Allen while also giving limited mins to K.Love for the 4 and 5?
They have no idea. They wanted a Markkanen type with their MLE. Then this.
Don’t get it for the Cavs at all. Unless they’re going to just buy out Love, he’s going to be a bench fixture making $30M a year. There’s no trade market for him. Okoro and Allen are now the only two guys in the front court that have ever heard of the word defense, and for a team that hopes they’re only a couple more years away from contention, cutting Mobley’s legs out from underneath him already is counterproductive.
The only team that did well in this deal was Portland. Chicago did fine, and Altman continues to amaze with his brilliant work.
Seems love us the next player to be traded or cut. Really don’t get the trade for cavs. Make sense for bulls, and is a winner for Portland . Nance is a player you need to win a workhorse who knows his role reminds me of junk yard dog ( Jerome Williams).
CHI did very well, getting a 1st for LM and agreeing to take back Jones (small price to pay). POR did what at least the GM needed to get done; add a new starter, so they can at least claim to be different, if not better. CLE committing more resources to the 4 & 5 spots is a little tough to figure. Moving Nance at this time wasn’t tough to figure. But I may have opted to take the 1st and Jones (vs, in effect, swapping them to POR for LM).
Well said, my thoughts exactly
I like Nance (a lot) but after drafting Mobley I think they should have put him on the market immediately – They surely could have gotten a better deal IMO than this
Not a Lauri fan whatsoever but I can see the {potential} fit in Cle if everything goes smooth.
In cle’s somewhat defense they are going to have to place bets on the “come” now post LBJ as they are not a fa destination and don’t have much surplus trade value (& a 2 yr anchor contract w Love still ) on the books while wanting to compete …still don’t like the move but see the “why”
Taking a gamble on Markkanen makes sense in a vacuum. He’s shown the ability to be a good offensive player in the past, and he’s still young enough that he could do it again with a change of scenery. But they still need a long term spot for Mobley, and Nance is a hell of a player. It also makes it more glaringly obvious that they might as well just buy out Love, because even if he’s healthy, there’s no room for him.
This doesn’t really make them any better at the wing, which is what they needed all along anyway. Markkanen could be offense off the bench once Mobley makes it into the starting lineup, but was this the best use of their resources?
I don’t hate it, but I don’t really understand it either.
Love this for Blazers
Sign Ennis to replace Jones
Sign another defender like Frank to round out roster
Markkanen is going to get his. He’s a 20 n 10 guy in the making. Bulls didn’t know how to use him. Only jerked him for two yrs. He and Mobley are a strong foundation for Cavs with Okoro. Nance has a chance now to play meaningful mins. He’s a good supplementary player there. At 28 he can play a big part in Blazers resurgence. Bulls got their pick. So it seems everyone got what they wanted. Always liked Markkanen he’s more than just a shooter. Love can also help him a lot before he gets moved. Cavs have good young talent. Might need to readjust though. (Allen, Sexton)
Mumbling Al still blaming the bulls, how original.
Still Zach became an AL star but Lauri stagnated but it’s the bulls fault
It makes sense the knicks are a junkyard for so long with this level of fans
Blame is your word. I only see talent that wasn’t used. So somehow you think this has something to to to with Knicks. Your a FAHole. That should take up another sport. Cause when Markkanen shows I’m coming for you, you ignorant tool. Learn the game. You think this is about us. What are you an 8 yr old.
When Markannen shows I will try to get the ice skate concession in hell.
You missed his first two yrs. That ice melted already. Why is it nobody knows basketball here.
So, the Bulls get a 2029 2nd rounder. Cause that 1st won’t be out of the lottery anytime soon.
That first will probably be soon. It is coming from Portland and if they don’t trade Lillard it will likely come next year. Portland right now looks like a playoff team next season. Which means the Bulls would get the pick in 2022.
I still believe portland will be playoff team…soo bulls will get their 1st next season…
Massive L for Portland
I enjoy hearing from all those of you denigrating the talents and impact of Larry Nance Jr. It saves me a lot of time, since I never have to seriously consider any of your opinions ever again.
Congratulations. Maybe you could use that time for good instead of evil.
CLE got a very cheap deal paying Lauri only 4/67… sooo much better than a certain contract a BOS player got just recently!
Now the starting line up must be Lauri/Mobley with K-Love/Allen on the 2nd unit… although I think K-Love might not start the season with CLE, but as of now this line ups look pretty good & solid, fantastic business for CLE, meanwhile CHI & POR are the clear losers, no surprise there.
Only person on earth think in cle won this trade…
I know, right?
It feels, oh sooo sweet to be the only person right ’bout something, when everybody else is wrong… you should try it some time, really love it my friend!
Maybe Altman knows of a med that will cure Markkanon of his drears, but I doubt it. When he was younger, LM played with an attitude that appeared that he thought there was a better way to do things than what the Bulls were doing. He just hangs out now, not worth a 4/$67m. I can just hear tv commentators seeing three 7footers and wondering what the play is. Jalen Rose only has to smirk and hopefully move right to the next topic.
All the Cavs had to do was sign Ennis MLE. See how a Nance combos with Mobley or Allen; see how Nance comes back after injury. He has probably been working on his 3s and was already at 36%3s. Assists, league leader in steals without fouling and to the eye, hustling without turnovers… Per 100 pos., 2.8stls/3.3fouls/4.8assts/1.8turns. Good A/T and rebounding.
Nance liked the locale, despite people like me calling Mobley the 4 of the future. Critics said he did not defend the 3 that well… I did not see that.
Not sure what Markk brings, but with Nance at the 3, Cavs could go both big AND small/fast in a league more and more revolving around wings, catching teams unequipped. After all, have to get Nance on the court somehow with that on-off number. But it sounded like Altman was envious of the wing bucket teams. Now what: he’s still not suited for a mid-size 3&D swarm effect.
If I’m Cleveland I would rather have Nance, I don’t get this
I think the second round pick also goes to Chicago, not to Portland…