Big and bruising? Well, that’s not Hawks center Larry Nance. And the Lakers know that well. Nance, after all, began his career as the product of a Lakers trade, as a late first-round pick of L.A. in the 2015 NBA draft. As a 6-foot-8 rookie, he actually played an estimated 14% of his minutes (according to Basketball-Reference.com) at small forward, the most of his career.
But the game has shrunk, and Nance now thrives in the role of a high-energy, switchable 5-man off the bench, playing 99% of his minutes at center in 2023-24 and 81% there in 2022-23 for the Pelicans.
Nance, though, was shipped off out of New Orleans in the summer deal with Atlanta for Dejounte Murray, and now sits on a Hawks roster that already has one center ready to take on a bigger role (Onyeka Okungwu) and another who has been on the trade market for more than a year now (Clint Capela). Something will need to give in Atlanta.
The presumption has been that it will be Capela on the move. But while few teams have had interest in Capela, Nance is another story.
Veteran NBA reporter Marc Stein reports, “The Atlanta big man drawing the most external interest is the newly acquired Nance. Word is Nance, who came to the Hawks in the recent Dejounte Murray trade, is being chased by multiple teams in need of proven size.”
And yes, one of the teams most in need of proven size this summer is the Lakers.
Lakers Trade Rumors: On the Hunt for a Quality Big Man
The question for the Lakers is whether they can squeeze enough center minutes out of Nance, who is in the second year of a two-year, $21.6 million contract, to make him a worthwhile addition. Coach JJ Redick has admitted that the Lakers’ chief aim for the rest of this summer is to get a big guy … but Nance is not all that big.
Here’s what Redick told Sirius XM Radio over the weekend, via SilverScreenAndRoll.com:
“You certainly have to look at what I think is actually a very good roster, a very balanced roster. We’d love to, we tried, but we’d love to, at some point, get another five man, a big bruising five man.
“You look at the Western Conference right now, whether it’s Denver, Minnesota, OKC with what they added, certainly Memphis, they’re going to be back in the hunt, they added Zach Edey, certain matchups in the playoffs, you’re going to need a lot of size.”
Nance plays with energy and smarts, and his lack of size allows him to better switch onto smaller players, a valuable asset in today’s NBA. But if the Lakers want beef to keep up with Nikola Jokic and Rudy Gobert, Nance might not be their guy. What the Lakers really want, though, is someone to chew up minutes and allow Anthony Davis to play more power forward.
That, Nance can do.
Larry Nance’s Positives Outweigh His Lack of Size
Nance has fans around the league.
“They want a big big guy, but Nance would be a good fit for that Lakers team, he’d give them some energy and toughness, he might work well with (Jarred Vanderbilt) as tough, high-energy guys,” one NBA executive said. “Larry’s not big but he is a winner and a tough SOB, he handles himself well in the middle (at center) and he has become a little bit of a threat with the corner 3 (pointer).
“They want to loosen up the payroll a little bit and they could do that. Would they have to give up a pick? That might end the conversation there. But if there’s a way to do it without a pick, that’s an interesting fit.”
The Pelicans were 13-3 when Nance played 23 or more minutes last season.
The Lakers trade for Nance could be a way to not only add a center but also to unload unwanted contracts. It’s doubtful the Lakers would give up one of their two first-round draft picks available to trade to get Nance (they can deal away 2029 and 2031’s top pick), but if it only cost them last year’s top pick—guard Jalen Hood-Schifino—the Lakers might be amenable.
Package JHS with Gabe Vincent and the shed-able contract of Christian Wood, and the Lakers could create two roster spots and free up money that would allow them to sign someone else.
Nance is not the perfect center for the Lakers. But he’s a pretty good solution to the team’s problems.
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