Report: Chicago agrees to exchange Lonzo Ball in Cleveland for Isaac Okoro
The Cleveland Cavaliers interviewed what should be a long season and see their opportunity. With this, they are looking for updates of the roster, pushing all their chips in a team of 64 wins that has learned some difficult lessons in the playoffs.
Cleveland found an update on Sunday: exchange Isaac Okoro at the Chicago Bulls for Lonzo Ball, A trade broken by Espn’s Shams Charania and quickly confirmed by other journalists. This is a direct trade in two players, no choice of drafts or other compensation that move between the teams.
If the ball can remain healthy, this is a victory and an update for Cleveland on the pitch. The versatile and gritty guard marked on average 7.6 points, 3.4 rebounds and 3.3 assists a match in 22 minutes per night on the bench last season, but the counting statistics underlined the type of small winning games he does. Ball is an intelligent facilitator who knows how to perform an offense, shot 36.6% on 3 episodes and is also a solid defender.
The concern is health. Ball returned last season after losing more than two complete seasons and having undergone three knee surgery. Ball’s minutes must be limited. He played in just 35 games last season, with an average of 22 minutes a night. However, Chicago trusted his health enough to sign him with a two-year extension of 20 million dollars who kicks next season (the second year of this, 2026-27, is a team option).
Bring to the ball suggests that Cleveland is not reporting the agent Libero Ty Jerome. This is somehow a cost problem, with this trade the knights are around $ 8.9 million compared to the feared according to apron and still have four points of rosters to be filled.
For Chicago, Okoro adapts to the mold of young players (24) with experience that the team is trying to bring, Veterane notes of the writer NBA KC Johnson. Okoro probably leaves the bench on the wing, playing minutes behind Coby White/Josh Giddey (depending on which one considers the two guard) and Ayo Dosunmu. Okoro was not the favorite of the new Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson last season and scored on average 6.1 points per game, mostly leaving the bench for less than 20 minutes per night. If selected n. 5 ever, Cleveland hope was that Okoro would fill the needs of the team on the wing, but he never developed in that player. He is a good defender of the wing (but not of elite), but his offense was inconsistent and not of what the knights needed. Chicago is making the bet in their system, playing White and Giddey, Okoro will live up to its potential.
Financially, this trade has rejected the bulls in the first apron, but it is more a technicality than a concern. Chicago is $ 54 million with that number of limit with only a couple of points of rosters to be filled, they must also sign Josh Giddey again. That hard hood should not be a problem.