Cavs, Bulls Updated Rosters, NBA Salary Cap After Lonzo Ball, Isaac Okoro Trade

The Cleveland Cavaliers kicked of their offseason Saturday by bolstering their supporting cast following a disappointing second-round exit in the 2025 NBA playoffs.

ESPN's Shams Charania reported the Cavs will send wing Isaac Okoro to the Chicago Bulls for guard Lonzo Ball. It appears to be a straight swap without any draft compensation included.

Bobby Marks of ESPN noted the trade is pretty much a wash financially with Ball and Okoro making similar money:

Here's how both franchises look heading into free agency, courtesy of Marks:

This is another trade that leaves Bulls fans scratching their heads.

Okoro is a good defensive player on a reasonable contract. Assuming Chicago retains Josh Giddey and potentially Tre Jones, trading a guard in order to strengthen on the wing makes a lot of sense.

But Okoro is a 35.1 percent three-point shooter whose limitations on offense became more glaring in the postseason. This past year, he logged only 14.2 minutes per contest during Cleveland's playoff run.

This transaction isn't as bad as sending Alex Caruso to the Oklahoma City Thunder for Giddey, yet it's similar in that the Bulls seemingly could've gotten more for Ball by doing this months ago.

Even if Okoro makes Chicago a little better, what's it in service of? He doesn't raise the ceiling that much, especially in a playoff context. And this isn't about a rebuild, either, because the Bulls didn't get any picks.

This isn't a positive omen for how the rest of the summer will unfold in the Windy City.

From the Cavs' perspective, Ball's upside is worth the risk his injury history provides.

After missing two-and-a-half seasons, the 6'6" playmaker averaged 7.6 points, 3.4 rebounds and 3.3 assists in 35 appearances. His comeback made for an incredible story because he was pretty much the same player from before all of his knee trouble.

It's doubtful Ball will ever play 30-plus minutes in a regular starter role again, but he can be really effective off the bench. As long as he can stay healthy, he'll give Cleveland great depth behind Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell.

In the event Ball has a recurrence of his knee injuries that prevent the Cavs from enjoying the full benefits of this trade, then it's a case of nothing ventured, nothing gained to a large degree.

Okoro's stock was trending in the wrong direction, and it's difficult to picture the front office getting a return that's better than this.