The Cleveland Cavaliers reportedly have signed guard Sharife Cooper, forward Pete Nance and guard Justin Powell ahead of training camp.
The Cleveland Cavaliers have signed guard Sharife Cooper, forward Pete Nance and guard Justin Powell, team says.
— Michael Scotto (@MikeAScotto) September 13, 2023
It was reported back in June that the Cavs and Nance had agreed to an Exhibit 10 contract after he went undrafted in the 2023 NBA Draft. Nance is the son of team legend Larry Nance Sr. and brother of Larry Nance Jr., who also played for Cleveland.
Pete Nance played collegiately at the University of North Carolina and Northwestern University.
On Tuesday, it was reported that Cleveland would be signing Powell, who also went undrafted in the 2023 NBA Draft. Powell played in Summer League with the Miami Heat this offseason.
A solid shooter, Powell averaged 10.4 points, 3.9 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 0.7 steals per game for the Washington State University Cougars in the 2022-23 season. He shot the ball at a high rate from 3-point range, hitting 42.6 percent shots from deep on 5.4 attempts per game.
Cooper, who was a second-round pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, has played in 13 games in his NBA career, all for the Atlanta Hawks. They all came during the 2021-22 season.
In the NBA, Cooper has averaged 0.5 points, 0.4 rebounds and 0.4 assists in 3.0 minutes per game. He didn’t get much of a chance to make an impact in Atlanta.
A smaller guard, Cooper has shone during his time in the G League, averaging 19.4 points per game across two seasons. In the 2022-23 campaign, Cooper averaged 21.3 points, 3.8 rebounds and 6.3 assists per game for the Cleveland Charge.
He clearly impressed enough at the G League level for the Cavs to give him a shot to make the roster in the 2023-24 season.
Last season, the Cavs made a major leap with Donovan Mitchell in the fold, earning the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference. While the team came up short in the playoffs – losing to the New York Knicks in the first round in just five games – the future is bright for the Cavs with young players like Darius Garland, Evan Mobley, Mitchell and Jarrett Allen on the roster.
It’s possible that Cooper, Powell and Pete Nance could impress enough in training camp to earn roster spots and contribute for Cleveland in the 2023-24 regular season.
