The trade the Cavaliers made on June 28, sending Isaac Okoro to the Bulls for Lonzo Ball, became official on July 6 with the start of the 2025-26 league year in the NBA.
Ball, a 6-foot-6 point guard, was selected by the Lakers with the second overall pick in the 2017 draft. He played two years with the Lakers and two with the Pelicans before being traded to the Bulls in August 2021. He played 35 games with Chicago in 2021-22 then missed the next two seasons recovering from knee surgery. He played in 35 games with 14 starts with the Bulls in 2024-25 while averaging a career-low 7.6 points a game.
Advertisement
“We are very excited about this opportunity to acquire someone with the skillset and versatility that Lonzo Ball brings to this team,” Cavaliers president of basketball operations Koby Altman said in a statement. “We have built a team for sustainable success and finding a way to improve around the edges has been our focus this offseason. The addition of Lonzo represents part of that process.
“I would also like to thank Isaac Okoro for his professionalism, hard work, and the true grit he brought to the court during his five seasons in Cleveland. We wish Isaac and his family nothing but the best in the future.”
Okoro, selected by Altman with the fifth pick of the 2020 draft, played in 334 career games with the Cavaliers. He made 228 starts. He averaged 8.1 points a game. Okoro, whose calling card is his tenacious defense, had career-low offensive production last season with 55 games played, 22 starts and an average of 6.1 points per game.
Ball will likely see most of his action coming off the bench, though he might start early in the season if Darius Garland isn’t fully recovered from toe surgery performed June 9 on the All-Star guard’s left big toe. Garland will be sidelined four to five months, the Cavs reported when announcing the surgery.
Advertisement
Ball is looking at playing for the Cavaliers as a chance to finally play some meaningful basketball games. The teams he played with during his time in New Orleans and Chicago did not have the talent the Cavaliers possess.
“I feel like it’s just a blessing, bro, to be honest,” Ball said recently on his podcast ‘What an Experience with Lonzo Ball’. “I’m going to a great situation, and I just want to, you know, play my role and do what I can to help.
“I’m happy to still be playing anywhere, let alone a team that has a real chance to, you know, win a ring.”
The Cavaliers also announced they re-signed guard Sam Merrill to a multi-year contract (four years, $38 million) and that they’ve signed Larry Nance Jr. to a one-year contract.