A now-deleted post on X (formerly known as Twitter) hinted at the notion that Larry Nance Jr.’s wife wasn’t too thrilled about the news that the 31-year-old got traded on Friday — or at least the timing of it.
Nance was dealt to the Atlanta Hawks along with E.J. Liddell, Dyson Daniels and a pair of first-round picks in exchange for star guard Dejounte Murray, who averaged 22.5 points and 6.4 assists per contest in his second and final season in Atlanta.
New Orleans was Nance’s NBA home for more than two seasons, as he joined the Pelicans during the middle of the 2021-22 season. Across 135 regular-season games played and one start for New Orleans, he averaged 6.3 points, 5.2 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 0.9 steals per game.
The Pelicans were consistently competitive during Nance’s stint, as they reached the playoffs in two of his three years and ended up with a solid 42-40 record in the one season where they didn’t qualify for the playoffs.
But while New Orleans was a perennial playoff contender with Nance on the roster, the squad never managed to win at a high level once the playoffs rolled around. The Pelicans lost in the opening round of the playoffs both times they qualified with Nance, falling to the Phoenix Suns in six games in 2022 and Oklahoma City Thunder in four games earlier this year.
It’s worth mentioning that Nance gave the Pelicans a huge lift off the bench in one of the team’s two playoff wins over the last three seasons. In just over 21 minutes of action off the New Orleans bench in Game 2 of the 2022 series against Phoenix, the big man dropped 13 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the field to go along with six rebounds and two assists.
Here’s to hoping that Nance will receive consistent touches and playing time next season for a Hawks team that could be headed for a rebuild after trading one of its most talented players in Murray.
