The Cleveland Cavaliers announced on Friday that power forward Larry Nance Jr. will be sidelined for approximately 1-2 weeks after having continued left knee soreness since missing the Cavs’ game against the Atlanta Hawks on December 23rd.
Nance underwent imaging and evaluation at Cleveland Clinic Sports Health by the Cavs’ medical staff on Friday. He will now undergo a period of treatment and rehabilitation and his return to play will be updated as appropriate:
The Cavs are 10-24 on the season. They are on their way to missing the playoffs in year two of the second post-LeBron James era.
In 31 games this season for the Cavs, Nance is averaging 8.0 points, 7.0 rebounds and 1.5 assists. He’s shooting 49.2 percent from the field, 33.7 percent from beyond the arc and 66.7 percent from the free-throw line.
Nance is making $12,727,273 this season. He signed a four-year, $44.8 million extension with the Cavs in the summer of 2018. Nance, 27, has career averages of 7.7 points, 6.6 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 290 games with the Los Angeles Lakers and Cleveland.
Cleveland is building its roster around Nance, Collin Sexton, Darius Garland, Kevin Porter Jr. and Cedi Osman. Most pundits expect general manager Koby Altman to eventually trade All-Star power forward Kevin Love, and maybe Tristan Thompson as well.
Since Cleveland won’t make the playoffs this season, the franchise will be cautious with Nance moving forward.
