Cavaliers fans will not have Isaac Okoro to complain about anymore.
The Cavs on June 28 agreed to trade Okoro to the Chicago Bulls for 6-foot-6 point guard Lonzo Ball, a league source confirmed. Shams Charania of ESPN was first to report the news. The trade won’t become official until July 6.
In other news, the Cavaliers and Sam Merrill agreed to a four-year, $38 contract extension. The trade and Merrill signing means it is unlikely the Cavs will re-sign Ty Jerome. Jerome will be a free agent when the 2025-26 league year begins July 2. Jerome is expected to cash in with a big contract after averaging 12.5 points a game off the bench in 2024-25.
Okoro played in 55 games with 22 starts for the Cavaliers last season. The fifth overall pick of the 2020 draft played a career low 19.1 minutes a game and averaged a career low 6.1 points a game last season. He averaged 8.1 points during his time in Cleveland.
Defending the opponent’s best scorer was Okoro’s calling card. Former Cavs coach J.B. Bickerstaff often called Okoro the best defensive player in the league. Kenny Atkinson, whose first year coaching the Cavs was 2024-25, echoed Bickerstaff.
“I sit up here all the time and talk about everybody, but I don’t talk about Isaac,” Atkinson said after a game late in the season. “But yet, every game, he’s darn good. He’s one of those guys you take for granted, and you shouldn’t.”
Ball, picked second overall by the Lakers in the 2017 draft, is still only 27 years old. He has been plagued by knee injuries that forced him to miss all of 2023-2024 and 2024-25. He needed a new meniscus and a cartilage transplant. He played and started 35 games last year while averaging 7.6 points a game. He averaged a career-high 14.6 points in 55 games, all starts, in 2021-22.
Ball gives the Cavaliers a ball-handling point guard behind Darius Garland. Garland is recovering from offseason toe surgery and might not be ready at the start of the season in October.
The trade could prove to be an excellent one for the Cavaliers if Ball can stay healthy. He is regarded as a strong defender. One knock on the Cavs is both Garland and Donovan Mitchell are 6-foot-1. Ball is five inches taller and should make the Cavaliers better defensively in the playoffs. He adds a physical element Garland does not possess.
Outside observers concluded the Cavaliers were the winners in the trade.
“If he can stay healthy, Lonzo Ball will be such a perfect fit for the Cavaliers,” Tim Bontempts of ESPN posted on X. “He has become a good shooter, is an incredible connector and a strong defender. Would fit in just about any lineup combination for them.”
Okoro is scheduled to make $11 million next season and 11.8 million in 2026-27. Ball will make $10 million next season. The Cavaliers hold a $10 million club option on him for 2026-27.
