It seems like playing for the Cleveland Cavaliers is a rite of passage for basketball hoopers with the Nance surname. On Tuesday night, Priority Sports agency announced that the Cavs had signed Pete Nance, the son of Cavs legend Larry Nance and brother of Larry Nance Jr., the former Cavs forward who’s currently with the New Orleans Pelicans. Nance was part of the Cavs team that won the 2023 NBA Summer League championship in Vegas.
At the moment, it’s unclear what kind of contract Nance, the former Northwestern and UNC big man, signed with the Cavs. Fans on social media believe that the Cavs signed the 6’10 forward to an exhibit-10 deal, giving him a chance to prove himself in training camp and, perhaps, latch onto the main roster later on in his career.
It appears rather unlikely that the Cavs would sign Pete Nance to a main roster deal, especially after recently signing Tristan Thompson to give the team more frontcourt depth. For as much as Nance helped the 2023 Cavs Summer League team win the championship, he may not be the caliber of player the team needs to round out the roster.
In six Summer League games, Nance averaged just 7.2 points and 3.3 rebounds in 20.6 minutes per game, although he did show that he was a solid floor spacer, making one triple a game at a 42.9 percent clip. He wasn’t a featured option during Summer League at all, as that distinction belonged to the likes of Sam Merrill, Isaiah Mobley, Emoni Bates, Craig Porter Jr, and even Sharife Cooper. Three of those aforementioned players are with the team on a two-way deal, while Merill is signed to the main roster on a non-guaranteed deal.
Nance should at least get a few looks in during training camp, but the most likely outcome for him is to begin the 2023-24 season with the Cleveland Charge, the Cavs’ G-League affiliate. The 23-year old forward will have to work on his consistency from deep as well as his perimeter defense for him to play his way into conversations of making it into the NBA like his brother and father have done.