Report: Chicago agrees to trade Lonzo Ball to Cleveland for Isaac Okoro - NBC Sports
Upgrading to Lonzo Ball is a win for Cleveland as long as he can stay healthy. It also might signal the end of Ty Jerome with the Cavs.
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Report: Chicago agrees to trade Lonzo Ball to Cleveland for Isaac Okoro
By
Kurt Helin,
By
Kurt Helin
Published June 28, 2025 12:22 PM
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The Cleveland Cavaliers surveyed what is expected to be a down East next season and see their opportunity. With that, they are looking for roster upgrades, pushing all their chips in on a 64-win team that learned some hard lessons in the playoffs.
Cleveland found one upgrade on Sunday: Trading Isaac Okoro to the Chicago Bulls for Lonzo Ball, a trade broken by Shams Charania of ESPN and quickly confirmed by other reporters. This is a straight-up trade of two players, no draft picks or other compensation moving between the teams.
If Ball can stay healthy, this is a win and an upgrade for Cleveland on the court. The versatile and gritty guard averaged 7.6 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 3.3 assists a game in 22 minutes a night off the bench last season, but the counting stats undersell the kind of little winning plays he makes. Ball is a smart facilitator who knows how to run an offense, he shot 36.6% on 3-pointers, and is also a solid defender.
The concern is health. Ball returned last season after missing more than two full seasons and undergoing three knee surgeries. Ball’s minutes have to be limited. He played in just 35 games last season, averaging 22 minutes per night. However, Chicago trusted his health enough to sign him to a two-year, $20 million contract extension that kicks in next season (the second year of that, 2026-27, is a team option).
Bringing in Ball suggests that Cleveland is not bringing back free agent Ty Jerome. This is somewhat of a cost issue, with this trade the Cavaliers are about $8.9 million over the dreaded second apron and have four roster spots still to fill.
Rating: 5