When Larry Nance Jr. and Jordan Clarkson were traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers they knew the culture would be a bit different than with the Los Angeles Lakers.
With the Lakers, Luke Walton is still trying to build a culture that one day will be like the Cavaliers, a winning culture with winning the most important thing.
“It’s just a culture that’s been established here,” Nance said via Alex Wong of The Score. “Whether it’s a dinner or a movie, the culture here is about trying to be more than just teammates, but to be friends. In Los Angeles, we were still establishing a culture, nothing was set in stone, not like it is here.”
“(LeBron) always makes us feel like we’re a part of something,” Clarkson added.
For the Cavaliers, it starts with LeBron James who doesn’t care about anything except winning. He knows if he plays well that is what is going to lead the Cavs to a lot of wins, so he focuses on that first.
One thing he does to try and really establish the culture is matching suits for playoff games. There have been a few games that every Cavalier showed up to the game in the same suit, provided by James. The team has gotten a lot of grief for the stunt, but one guy who really enjoys the suits is Nance because it shows a sense of unity.
“For certain guys, it’s not quite their style,” Nance said. “But we’re all coming to the arena with the same thing on. It’s a business trip. It’s a ‘we over me’ mindset.”