Following a surprising offseason trade, guard Lonzo Ball ended up on the Cleveland Cavaliers, moving from a middling Chicago Bulls team to a contender’s roster.
The Cavs gave up wing Isaac Okoro for Ball, shaking up their team and moving on from a long-time player.
The move was somewhat risky for Cleveland, which had the best record in the NBA last season (64-18), but fell short to a strong Indiana Pacers team in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
That same Pacers roster pushed the dominant Oklahoma City Thunder to a seven-game series in the NBA Finals. Also, the Cavs were banged up heading into the series against Indiana.
Considering the context regarding their playoff exit, the Cavs were mainly expected to roll back a similar team and try again in the postseason.
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Instead, the front office took a chance on Ball, an injury-prone guard who has struggled to stay on the court, and early indicators point to the move working out.
Team insider Chris Fedor reports that Ball has impressed during the early stages of training camp.
“From what I continue to hear, Lonzo Ball is somebody who continues to turn heads. He continues to show how he can be an effective fit for this team,” Fedor wrote in a story for Cleveland.com.
“Obviously there are questions about how much is he going to play in the regular season, is he going to play back-to-backs? Can he make it through a regular season fully healthy, but he’s showing glimpses of why, number one, he’s a better, more impactful player than Isaac Okoro.”
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At almost 28 years old, Ball did not play during the 2022-2023 and 2023-2024 seasons at all while undergoing several knee surgeries. Last season, he returned and played 35 games for Chicago, before getting knocked out of the rotation by a wrist injury.
When healthy, he offers All-Defensive Team-level production, while moving the ball at an elite level and creating for his teammates. In terms of scoring, he is strongest in transition or spotting up from deep.
During his career, he has averaged 11.4 points, 5.8 assists, and 5.5 rebounds, providing teams with a well-rounded performance.
He will be surrounded by elite talent for the first time in his career on the Cavs, and it could help this new role player iteration of Ball.
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