Cavs' Lonzo Ball trade is brilliant for 3 reasons

6 hours ago 1

The Cleveland Cavaliers should be patting themselves on the back.

They traded Isaac Okoro to Chicago on Saturday for Lonzo Ball.

They couldn't have come up with a better deal near the bottom of their roster.

Here's why:

Lonzo Ball's shooting stats

Lonzo Ball couldn't shoot in college or at the very start of his NBA career.

But now? He's actually a solid shooter.

In his second-most-recent healthy season, Ball shot 42% from 3. It was down to 34.4% in 2024-25 for the Bulls, which is still passable.

He's just thought of commonly as a shooting liability, and that's not true anymore.

The Cavs didn't acquire Lonzo for his shooting, but if he can make the occasional outside shot, it'll go a long way toward success.

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Lonzo's health issues have prevented it from always showing up in the NBA, but he's a generationally gifted passer.

He sees the floor as well as anyone and delivers the ball on time and on target.

His UCLA highlights are astounding for the vision and execution Ball has had since a young age as a passer.

He'll likely come off the Cavs bench, so it won't be prolific statistically, but he'll throw a pass or two every night that blows your mind.

Really, this deal also solves a big problem.

Isaac Okoro was unplayable in the postseason.

He's a strong defender, but he can't be a lead ballhandler and his shooting is too suspect for teams to respect him in the playoffs offensively.

The Cavs replace a guy who could get played off the floor in the playoffs to a guy who won't have to be. That in itself is a win.

And if Ball can stay healthy (admittedly a big if), he can help the Cavs get a lot closer to the promised land.

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