Former Cleveland Cavaliers guard Lonzo Ball referred to himself as a “scapegoat” when discussing the end of his tenure with the organization. <\/p>\n
“I know I’m the scapegoat right now but that comes with the name, though,” Ball said during Tuesday’s Ball In The Family podcast. <\/p>\n
“Can I play better? Yes,” he added. “Have I been playing terrible? I don’t think I have. I’ve been shooting bad.”<\/p>\n
Cleveland traded Ball to the Utah Jazz as part of a three-team swap<\/a> on Feb. 4 before Utah waived him and allowed him to hit free agency. <\/p>\n He initially joined the Cavaliers in a\u00a0trade<\/a>\u00a0with the Chicago Bulls during the 2025 offseason and was expected to operate as a key piece in their backcourt rotation following the departure of Ty Jerome in free agency.<\/p>\n Cleveland struggled with consistency in the first half of the year, sitting at just 22-19 through 41 games after wrapping up a 64-18 finish during its 2024-25 campaign.<\/p>\n As the Cavs dealt with injuries to several players including Darius Garland and Max Strus as well as Evan Mobley, Ball struggled to make an impact off the bench.<\/p>\n He averaged 4.6 points, 4.0 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.3 steals per game while shooting just 30.1 percent from the field and 27.2 percent from behind the arc.<\/p>\n Although Ball remained sharp defensively, his poor shooting hurt Cleveland’s overall efficiency.<\/p>\n The Cavaliers owned a 118.2 offensive rating with Ball off the court, which dropped down to a 111.0 offensive rating with him on the floor (via\u00a0NBA.com<\/a>).<\/p>\n