INDEPENDENCE, Ohio _ Months after he was traded to his hometown Cavaliers and was allowed to put on his father's retired No. 22 jersey, Larry Nance Jr. still found it hard to believe.
"This is something you secretly dream about, even playing through college, even with the Lakers, you're just kind of like, 'That would be pretty cool if I can get to play back at home,' " Nance said on Cavs media day Sept. 24. "Even though I got to play last year, wearing this jersey, putting the Nance 22 on while it's still retired, I wake up every morning and pinch myself."
Nance, 25, will be pinching himself for a while longer. He agreed to a four-year, $44.8 million contract extension Monday, just beating the league's 6 p.m. deadline. In the evening, he signed the deal at Quicken Loans Arena, with general manager Koby Altman standing alongside in a video the Cavs posted on Twitter.
"Since last year, Koby traded for me and brought me here, I haven't come up with the word for it yet. Surreal doesn't even cut it," Nance said in the video. "I grew up here, I grew up in this building watching my dad play. Now to re-up here for four more years and get to wear the 22 in the city of Cleveland, I can't put it into words.
"I'm one of you guys, I really am, I'm a Cleveland guy at heart. I couldn't be happier. There's no place I'd rather be. I always joke that I was the only person to live in LA and vacation in Cleveland. Now I can vacation where I live."
Nance's previous contract carried a $2.72 million salary for this season. According to Joe Vardon of The Athletic, Nance's salary declines from $12.7 million in year 1 to $9.6 million in year 4. Had the two sides not reached agreement, Nance would have become a restricted free agent next summer.
The Cavs saw enough from Nance to make him part of their core group as they go forward without LeBron James, who departed in free agency for the Lakers. Cavs coach Tyronn Lue plans for Nance to share the starting center spot with Tristan Thompson, with the latter getting the call against beefier bigs.
Nance's goal for this season is to share his play-making ability.
"That's something that's kind of gotten tucked away since I came into the league," he said at media day. "I've been a roller, a defensive player, a rim-runner and an athlete more than anything else. Personally, I think I've got a great vision of the game. I see what's going on.
"I'm really, really looking forward to an expanded role this year."
Acquired from the Lakers in a Feb. 8 trade that also brought the Cavs Jordan Clarkson, Nance averaged 8.9 points and 7.0 rebounds in 20.8 minutes over 24 games with 10 starts. Making his first career playoff appearance, Nance contributed 4.8 points and 4.5 rebounds in 15.4 minutes of 20 games.
Nance's father, Larry Sr., played 13 years in the NBA, six with the Cavs, where he became one of only two players in franchise history to be named to the All-Defensive first team. Larry Jr. was 2 when his dad's jersey was retired in 1995. Larry Sr. and his wife, Jaynee, still live in Richfield.
The extension caps a special year for Nance, who married longtime girlfriend Hailey Pince in July in Maui, Hawaii, after an informal ceremony at the Summit County Courthouse. The two met as students at the University of Wyoming.
