Larry Nance Jr. returning to Cavs after agreeing to 1-year deal

The Cavaliers have found their backup big man — and he's coming back for a second go-round with the team. Forward/center Larry Nance Jr. agreed Tuesday on a one-year deal for the veteran's minimum. The 6-foot-8, 245-pounder played four seasons with Cleveland from 2017-21 before being traded to the Portland Trail Blazers. The son of former Cavs great Larry Nance has played 10 seasons in the NBA after being drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers in 2015. The 32-year-old has also played for the New Orleans Pelicans and Atlanta Hawks. Cleveland has been searching for a backup big man and inquired about Boston Celtics veteran Al Horford. He might not have been interested in playing for roughly $3 million a season. The deal with Nance won't be official until Sunday. Nance's signing might signal the end of veteran Tristan Thompson's days in Cleveland. Nance's younger brother, Pete, also played one season for the Cavs in 2024-25 and is on a two-way contract with the Milwaukee Bucks. Larry Nance Jr. has averaged 7.7 points, 6.1 rebounds and 1.9 assists while shooting .539 from the field and .353 from the 3-point line in his career. He played collegiately at Wyoming and was a prep standout at Revere High School. He can play power forward and center, even though he's a bit undersized at the 5. Nance is a good teammate and has improved his long-range shooting. Cavs backup point guard Ty Jerome agreed to a three-year, $28 million deal with the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday. Jerome had revived his career in Cleveland last season when he was a finalist for Sixth Man of the Year. He averaged 12.5 points and 3.4 assists while shooting .439 from the 3-point line. Of course, the Cavs made a preemptive strike last week when they traded swingman Isaac Okoro to the Chicago Bulls for point guard Lonzo Ball. Presumably, Ball will serve as the backup point guard, a role ably filled by Jerome last year. In theory, the Cavs wished to sign both of their major unrestricted free agents in Sam Merrill and Jerome. However, if they had, they would have had to pay an exorbitant tax bill. They made the somewhat surprising decision to sign Merrill over Jerome, as they agreed to a four-year, $38 million contract with the long-range shooter Saturday. And, in another bit of a revelation, Merrill will make slightly more than Jerome. As expected, the free agent process is going slowly for the Cavs. They are projected to have around $240 million in salaries for 2025-26, well over the second apron of the NBA's salary cap. That makes them mostly a spectator in free agency as they watch other teams around them get better. The Cavs already trimmed some fat off the roster when they didn't make qualifying offers to restricted free agents Emoni Bates and Chuma Okeke. Both became unrestricted free agents. They did make a qualifying offer to Luke Travers. Bates, Cleveland's No. 49 pick in the 2023 draft from Eastern Michigan, showed much promise with his 3-point shooting. But the rest of his game suffered and he likely wasn't going to barge his way into coach Kenny Atkinson's rotation. Proctor signs The Cavs signed rookie second-round pick Tyrese Proctor to a four-year, $8.69 million contract Tuesday, according to HoopsHype. The third year is partially guaranteed and the fourth year is a team option. The 6-4, 183-pound combo guard, selected with the 49th pick last week, appeared in 38 games (all starts) as a junior for Duke this past season and averaged 12.4 points, 3.0 rebounds and 2.3 assists. He ranked fourth in the Atlantic Coast Conference in 3-point percentage (.405) and 3-point field goals made per game (2.34) while also ranking fourth in program history (25th in NCAA Division I) in assist-turnover ratio (2.33). Proctor helped Duke to its 23rd ACC Tournament championship, as he scored 19 points on a career-high six 3-pointers in the title game. In his career with the Blue Devils, Proctor appeared in 106 games (97 starts) and averaged 10.8 points, 3.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists. The Sydney, Australia, native attended The NBA Academy and was the 14th player to be drafted or sign with an NBA team. Proctor will wear No. 24. Tyson changes number Jaylon Tyson is switching to No. 20. That number became available when Cleveland traded Georges Niang during last season. Tyson wore it at Texas Tech and California. Bob Finnan can be reached at rfinnan30@gmail.com. Follow him @BobCavsinsider on X.