CLEVELAND — Even though Larry Nance Jr. hadn't played for nearly a month when he returned to Northeast Ohio on Dec. 21, the New Orleans Pelicans big man and Revere High School graduate was in a great mood.
Canton native and teammate CJ McCollum noted how happy Nance seemed to be as the Pelicans wrapped up a shootaround session the morning of their 123-104 victory over the Cavaliers at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.
And Nance confirmed he was overjoyed to be back in his old stomping grounds.
"It's true," he said.
Being idle as he recovered from a fractured rib couldn't spoil the good vibes.
After all, Nance said he experiences "nostalgia" when he's in Cleveland .
His father, Larry Nance Sr. , is a franchise legend who raised his family in Bath Township.
Larry Nance Jr. played for the Cavs (2018-21), and his younger brother, Pete , is now a member of the NBA G League's Cleveland Charge .
It's safe to say the Nances will always be members of the Cavs family.
Larry Nance Jr. returned to game action on Dec. 28 and helped the Pelicans defeat the Utah Jazz 112-105 by contributing nine points, seven rebounds, five steals and a blocked shot in 25 minutes. In his second game back, Nance assisted the Pelicans in their 129-109 win over the Los Angeles Lakers by scoring 11 points and grabbing 10 rebounds in 23 minutes.
The following is a question-and-answer session the Beacon Journal's Nate Ulrich had with Nance when he and the Pelicans were in Cleveland.
NU: What do you think about your brother Pete's opportunity with the Charge?
LNJ: "We're just so proud of him, honestly. That's a big step, and the fact that he's home and gets to be around the family, I mean, we can't thank [president of basketball operations] Koby [Altman] , [General Manager Mike] Gansey and everybody in the organization enough for taking a chance on him. And hopefully now he's starting to reward them and their trust. He's playing really well."
NU: You've said Pete is living in your house and driving your car. Are you charging him rent?
LNJ: "No. No rent. No rent. The only thing I ask is that my wife's got a lot of plants, so you've got to water those. You've got to do all that. But he's doing all right."
NU: One of your main goals with him is get to a game, right?
LNJ: "I will find a game to go to. I don't know how or when, but I will find a game to go to. I've seen him play every single year he's been playing basketball, whether it's high school, college or hopefully now I'll get to see him in person in the pros. But I will make it to a game at some point."
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NU: Soccer was your first love in sports. Earlier this year, you became part of the ownership of English soccer club Leeds United. How rewarding was it and what has it been like so far?
LNJ: "It's probably been one of the joys of my career, truly. It's something that I'm most proud of. I play basketball for a job and a career, but I would say I truly love soccer. Over the past decade or so, I've been investing more of my time and energy into learning more and traveling over there and watching games. So this past summer, the right opportunity came up, and I was fortunate to get in with a massive historic club. So I'm just tickled, and it's just the joy of my career."
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NU: Do you have a grand vision for where you want this to go with Leeds?
LNJ: "I'm a small fish in the big pond that is the Leeds ownership. I don't make any decisions in terms of that. I just am enjoying being a part of it. But for me, I want to be involved. Even if our ownership sells, I want to stay. When I retire, I want Leeds be somewhere that we can go and spend time at, me and my family. It is a monetary investment, but it's more of an investment of passion and true love."
NU: Did you need to switch allegiances as a soccer fan?
LNJ: "I did. So there's a general rule once you pick a soccer club, you've picked your soccer club, period, point-blank, till you die. So I was a Chelsea fan. I grew up watching Chelsea and my favorite players were always Chelsea Blues, but I had to relinquish my fandom and focus solely on Leeds United. I had always admired them from afar, but now that I've got stake in it, I've really got to really, really switch over."
NU: What emotions do you experience when you return to Cleveland?
LNJ: "I miss the guys. I miss the coaching staff. I miss the training staff. They're just good people here. This is going to be my home forever, so there are people here and relationships here that I'll have hopefully way beyond when I'm playing."
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Nate Ulrich can be reached at nulrich@thebeaconjournal.com. On Twitter: @ByNateUlrich .
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Pelicans' Larry Nance Jr. talks brother and soccer ownership
