said Ball<\/a> on the trade. \u201cI\u2019m happy to be in Cleveland, happy to be on this team, and to do what I can to compete for a championship.\u201c<\/p>\nBall joins a Cavalier squad that won 64 games the year before. This is a roster that has experienced monumental success in the regular season \u2014 but is still looking for its shining moment in the playoffs. Ball is eager to help them earn that.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wouldn\u2019t say I\u2019m the missing piece,\u201d said Ball during media day. \u201cBut I just think that I\u2019m here to help win a championship, to do my part, and be a good teammate.\u201d<\/p>\n
This iteration of the Cavaliers hasn\u2019t had a player like Ball on their bench. He isn\u2019t a microwave scorer like Ty Jerome or Caris LeVert. He doesn\u2019t have the same defensive limitations as Ricky Rubio did. Ball is a totally different archetype that can check all of the most important boxes for playoff success.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy game is pretty simple,\u201d said Ball. \u201cPlay defense, hit open shots and don\u2019t turn the ball over. Those are my three main points, and I just go from there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Every championship team needs a role player who can hit on those three skills. An efficient, defensive-oriented ball-handler is a recipe for success in the modern NBA. Recent championship players like Alex Caruso and Jrue Holiday are the blueprint to what Cleveland is looking to replicate with Ball.<\/p>\n
Still, it\u2019s no secret that trading for Ball comes with a risk.<\/p>\n
Ball has suffered several season-ending injuries across his career, including a two-year knee injury leading up to last season. He will have to prove that he can stay healthy long-term if any of this is going to work out.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s an ongoing conversation with me and the staff,\u201d said Ball. \u201cIt depends on how I\u2019m feeling, but I\u2019m looking forward to playing as many games as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ball has the benefit of spending an entire offseason without any new injuries. This is the type of summer he hasn\u2019t enjoyed in multiple years. This has allowed Ball to approach his workouts with a greater purpose.<\/p>\n
\u201dIt\u2019s a breath of fresh air to go through workouts normally,\u201d said Ball. \u201cI\u2019ve been doing everything with the team; I haven\u2019t had any setbacks.\u201d<\/p>\n
There is immense pressure on Ball and the Cavaliers to win this season. A full year of health, capped off with a championship, would cement this team forever. The opposite, another postseason blunder, could stain them.<\/p>\n
But Ball isn\u2019t overly worried about how this season will impact his overall legacy. His focus is on putting his best foot forward \u2014 and letting the rest sort itself out.<\/p>\n
\u201cLegacy really just depends on when you look back at your life in the mirror, and if you\u2019re happy with yourself, then that\u2019s all that matters.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Cleveland Cavaliers traded for Lonzo Ball because they feel like he can help raise their ceiling in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":182370,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[557],"tags":[64,63,54862,590,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-182369","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nba","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-cavs-news","11":"tag-nba","12":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/182369","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=182369"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/182369\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/182370"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=182369"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=182369"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=182369"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}