Lonzo Ball Says It's 'Pretty Much Ring or Nothing' for Cavaliers After Bulls Trade

The goal is clear for Lonzo Ball as he prepares to suit up for the Cleveland Cavaliers after they acquired him via trade from the Chicago Bulls for Isaac Okoro.

"We should all be focused on getting to a ring," Ball told reporters Monday. "But we all know that June's a long time when you start in September, October, so you can't look too far ahead. [The Cavs] were [the No. 1 seed] in the East last year, so everybody knows that it's pretty much ring or nothing."

Cleveland finished with the best record in the Eastern Conference last season, although it lost to the Indiana Pacers in five games in the second round.

Yet the East is wide open for the 2025-26 campaign with Achilles injuries to Tyrese Haliburton and Jayson Tatum impacting otherwise presumed contenders in the Pacers and Boston Celtics. The Milwaukee Bucks also waived Damian Lillard, who is recovering from his own Achilles injury, which leaves Cleveland and the New York Knicks as perhaps the top two teams.

Ball's presence will help the Cavaliers tread water early in the season as Darius Garland recovers from offseason toe surgery.

The UCLA product also believes he fits in well beyond just the backcourt depth he will provide. 

"I couldn't ask for nothing better than this," Ball said. "I think it's a great situation for my play style.

"I play basketball the same way no matter what team I'm on. I'm gonna go out there, defend, push the pace, shoot the shots that are open and live with the results."

Injuries have largely prevented Ball from fully living up to the expectations that were put in place when he entered the league as the No. 2 overall pick of the 2017 NBA draft. He missed the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons before playing just 35 games in 2024-25.

However, he is a career 36.2 percent shooter from the outside and should be capable of taking advantage of the openings created by the additional defensive attention Donovan Mitchell draws. Ball is also an impressive facilitator and could anchor Cleveland's second unit when Garland returns.

As long as he is chasing that championship ring, he will likely be perfectly fine with his role.