Tar Heel Alum Pete Nance Gets Let Go by Cavaliers

Pete Nance, who spent last season in the UNC basketball program after playing four years at Northwestern, was waived by the Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday. The NBA transactions log shows he was among seven players the franchise waived (all on the same day) as the Cavaliers prepare for their season opener on Wednesday night.

After going undrafted this summer, the 23-year-old Nance signed an Exhibit 10 contract in Cleveland — where his dad, Larry Nance, has his jersey retired — and participated in Cavaliers training camp.

But the 6-foot-11 forward saw only 17 minutes of action between his two appearances across Cleveland's four-game preseason slate, totaling two points, two rebounds, and one block.

He'll likely spend his 2023-24 campaign with the Cleveland Charge, the Cavaliers' G League affiliate. There, he'll have a chance to impress and potentially earn a bonus of up to $75K by remaining with the team for at least 60 days.

Nance averaged 10.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks per game as a grad transfer and full-time starter for last season's UNC basketball team.

However, those Tar Heels failed to secure an NCAA Tournament bid despite ranking No. 1 overall in the preseason AP Top 25 Poll. And Pete Nance's 3-point shooting (only 32.0 percent on 3.3 attempts per outing) was disappointing given his 45.2 shooting percentage from deep as a Northwestern senior.