The Cleveland Cavaliers traded for Lonzo Ball at the end of June, sending Isaac Okoro to the Bulls. It was a simple player swap, nothing more. Chicago is known for trading for former lottery picks, and in this case, Cleveland benefited.

Cleveland’s motivation for making this trade was to gain financial flexibility, as Ball will earn $10 million next season and has a $10 million team option for the 2026-27 season. Okoro will make $11 million in 2025-26 and $11.8 million the following season. The Cavaliers will save $1 million next season, but are off the hook for Okoro’s guaranteed salary in 2026-27. That in itself is a win for a cash-strapped team.

The thing that could derail this trade for the Cavaliers is if Ball gets hurt, but even then, it wouldn’t break them. He played 35 games for the Bulls last season after missing the previous two seasons because of knee problems. He averaged 7.6 points, 3.4 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 1.3 steals per game, shooting 36.6% from the field and 34.4% from three. Chicago monitored Ball’s minutes (he averaged 22.2 per game) and he didn’t play in back-to-back contests.

Even with his injury history, the trade is still a win for Cleveland. Ball is a pretty good replacement for Ty Jerome, and will help with Darius Garland sidelined.

The fact that all it took for the Bulls to get Ball was giving up Okoro is even better. The Cavaliers lost their top wing defender, but he also hurt them in the playoffs. Opposing teams aren’t afraid to leave Okoro open, and for good reason.

The Lonzo Ball-Isaac Okoro trade was a great move for the Cavaliers

The trade didn’t make much sense for Chicago, but most of the things that the Bulls do don’t make sense. Okoro will boost their defense, but Chicago could’ve probably gotten a better player in exchange for Ball. Good thing that didn’t happen.

Ball gives Cleveland a six-foot-six guard who can defend and run the offense. The Cavaliers are extremely limited in what they can do to upgrade the roster, but they managed to land a player who can make them better, all without sacrificing one of their key players.

Ball has gone through a lot over the past year, like playing again, and now he’s on a new team. The coaching staff will monitor his minutes, and he might never play in a back-to-back again. That’s okay. Cleveland has the depth to make up for it. The goal is to make it to the playoffs in one piece. The Cavaliers are built to do that.