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Why Lonzo Ball-Isaac Okoro trade was essential for Cavs, Bulls
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- Why Lonzo Ball-Isaac Okoro trade was essential for Cavs, Bulls
The post Why Lonzo Ball-Isaac Okoro trade was essential for Cavs, Bulls appeared first on ClutchPoints .
As usual, Isaac Okoro was greeted by cheers at Rocket Arena and a big hug from Moondog. As usual, Lonzo Ball shared a laugh with Billy Donovan during a break in the action. But instead of pulling up in the Cleveland Cavaliers' player garage, Okoro rode a bus and had a shorter walk to the visitors' side. Instead of traveling a few hours east, Ball drove downtown and strolled into his new locker room .
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Ball made his unofficial Cavs debut the same night Okoro returned to the only basketball home he's known since being drafted in 2020.
"It was some mixed emotions," Okoro told reporters after the Chicago Bulls defeated his old team 118-117 on Tuesday night. "It's a preseason game right now, so it hasn't all hit me. But it was good seeing the guys. I've been with them for five years, so seeing them was definitely a good feeling for me. Being back on the court, it was a good feeling. So all in all, it was good."
Cleveland and Chicago agreed on a one-for-one swap of Okoro and Ball on June 28, and the trade was made official on July 6 .
"I feel like they got a great player in Lonzo, and the Bulls got me," Okoro said. "It felt like both of the teams got what they needed for their team, and all in all, it was good."
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"I was just excited," Ball said on Cavs Media Day of his reaction. "I mean, no hard feelings with Chicago. A lot of love for them as well, but happy to be in Cleveland now, happy to be on this team and do what I can to compete for a championship."
Isaac Okoro earns rave reviews from both of his Cavs, Bulls coaches
Before the game, Cavs head coach Kenny Atkinson sported a grin when prompted to address the deal for the first time and Okoro's impact on the Cavs.
"You have your group of favorite players you coached; he's in that bucket," Atkinson said. "What a stellar human being, obviously gave a lot to this organization. Another guy who's a part of this beautiful culture we have here. Those are tough when you lose a guy like that. Just a great, great person… Even-keeled, kind, coachable. Teammates loved him. Never complained. He's one of those rare, rare breeds.
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"And then, he was a defensive stopper. We have other guys that can defend; obviously, Lonzo can defend. But Ice was really, really a stopper. I'd love to find another guy on this team that can come close to replicating what he did on the defensive end… It's a great opportunity for him. I know he's probably gonna get more touches and more action, so I'm happy for him. He's with a good organization, a really good coach."
Atkinson referred to Okoro as "a coach's dream," a message he relayed to Bulls head coach Billy Donovan after the transaction was completed.
"He's very, very grounded," said Donovan, impressed by Okoro's emotional consistency and comparing it to Ball's. "We need another wing, physical defender, and things that he does do in terms of the offensive rebounding and guarding multiple positions. He's been great to work with, got a really good spirit. I think he's fit in very, very well with our team. I think the biggest thing for him is he understands who he is as a player, and he plays the game to his strengths."
Donovan found everything that Atkinson was selling to be accurate firsthand. He is pleased with how Okoro plays the game, recognizing who he's on the floor with and adjusting his role to fit the other four's skill sets. Donovan was asked about the 24-year-old's development with the Cavs and whether Chicago will give him more chances to showcase his capabilities offensively in a new system.
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"When you look at Cleveland's team last year, when you've got [Darius] Garland and [Donovan] Mitchell and [Evan] Mobley, he's just not gonna be a primary option with those three guys," Donovan told ClutchPoints. "But you know what, he cuts. To his credit, he really improved his three-point shooting from the corners. He's certainly guarded all the best guys all over the place throughout his career. To say there'll be more opportunity or not, I don't know that necessarily with the way Isaac plays. He plays within himself.
"Certainly, if he's open, we want him shooting the ball. If he's got it out in transition, we want him to go in there. If he gets in the paint and doesn't have [a look] at the rim, pass it. We want him to play basketball. The thing I've been impressed with since he's been here is he always plays within himself. He plays to his strengths."
Okoro opened Tuesday's game in the Bulls' starting lineup and guarded Mitchell, one of his most ardent supporters during his time in Northeast Ohio. He knocked down his first triple try from the right wing on a Josh Giddey pass. He'd hit one more from the left corner in the second quarter, going 2-for-6 from long distance. Okoro finished with 11 points, two assists, and two rebounds in 18 minutes.
He'd like to cut down on his five turnovers, but was happy Chicago came out with the victory. The Bulls will take on the Cavs again on Thursday evening at home, then come back to the shores of Lake Erie on November 8, only a month from now — when it counts.
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"It's a funny way in the business, but at the end of the day, I'm on the Chicago Bulls and I'm trying to bust Cleveland's a** any day," Okoro said.
Lonzo Ball comes with plenty of endorsements on each side, too.
Basketball IQ is the common denominator between the two coaches' affinity for Ball. On that same phone call, Atkinson recalls Donovan singing his praises.
"Billy just raved about him," Atkinson said. "Raved about him in the locker room, what a great teammate he is, his incredible IQ. Then, the defensive chops that he has, the competitor that he is, it's impressive. We've seen it already in training camp…"
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In his pregame press conference, Donovan spoke glowingly of Ball's time with the Bulls despite a tough-luck injury history.
"When the extension happened for Lonzo, I know he was very excited. I was very excited," Donovan recalled of the veteran guard's two-year, $20 million contract signed on February 25. "The thing that's amazing to me is there's times where he's out for weeks at a time and he goes right back in the game. Certain guys, they get a little rust. He can just go back in there and just start playing just 'cause of his feel and his IQ. He can figure out ways to impact the game."
Donovan clarified that Ball's setback last year was a "fluke," spraining his right wrist in early October 2024 and reaggravating it later. He couldn't shoot the basketball and play how he was used to with such a sped-up recovery. It was his left knee, rather, that kept giving him problems for multiple seasons, to the point where he missed back-to-back campaigns from 2022-24.
But to Ball's credit, he kept pushing forward no matter the obstacle.
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"The thing that was so impressive to me was his ability to take whatever's being thrown at him and not be fazed one bit," Donovan said. "It's like, 'Okay, what is it? What's next?' And that's just the way he always is. I've never seen his demeanor change. Now, I'm sure he has moments when the game's taken away from you and you go through what he went through; certainly has moments. But in terms of around the guys and around me, it was one of the most impressive things I've ever witnessed.
"For a guy in the prime of his career, clearly on track to be one of the better point guards in the league, to have that happen and think you've got it solved, and another problem comes u,p and you think you have it solved, and another problem comes up. It was year after year after year, and he did whatever he had to do to get back on the court. He just wants to play. Whatever role he can play, he'll play it."
In his first media appearance with the Cavs over the summer, Ball expressed his pride in his knee's performance in 2024-25, even with the wrist injury.
"After the games, I didn't really know what to expect," Ball said on July 7. "But when I first got back versus Minnesota in that preseason game, I was kind of surprised how good I was moving around, and then I felt like it just got better as the year went on."
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Donovan added that nobody was at fault for what happened in Chicago, and he is hopeful that Ball can finish the year and maintain his health with whatever Cleveland does to maintain his workload.
Atkinson and his staff plan to monitor and communicate that to him, with benchmarks on his performance and minutes sides. Part of that includes Ball not playing back-to-back games early in the season and ensuring he is good to go when the playoffs roll around.
"Our job is to manage him correctly," Atkinson said. "But so far, so good in training camp. Hasn't missed many drills, kinda in the middle of the pack in our conditioning stuff. It seems like he's in a really good place.
"It's funny, a guy with a pretty tough injury [history], he moves pretty well. There's a reason this guy was a second overall pick in our league. He's got great, great feet. Great anticipation. And obviously, he's one of those guys that makes other people better, which is a coach's dream, right? Makes other people better. He's a fun guy to watch."
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It was a rough go for Ball in his unofficial Cavs debut, as he went scoreless with an assist and a turnover in 12 minutes. That's to be expected for a guy who's played in only 35 games the last three years and change, and especially common for a player getting acclimated to a new environment and different teammates.
Donovan tips his cap to Ball's professionalism, skill set, and intelligence.
"I think because he's so cerebral in the game, he's never rattled because he's so smart. Like, he knows all the answers to the test," Donovan said. "So when you watch him play, there's a great calmness to him. I think the other point too, he understands situations. When you're in timeouts, he will be talking to guys about situational basketball. He probably had that gift; it's evolved as he's probably gotten older, but he's really, really smart. He's all about winning. He's all about competing.
"He is a guy that gets way more pleasure from passing the ball than he does from scoring it. He wants to take care of everybody. He has a great pulse of what's going on in the game. He understands time-score management. He's just really, really smart and a great player… somebody asked me in Chicago when he was gonna come back and play last year, can he still have impact in a game? I'm like, 'Oh yeah, absolutely.' Whenever you put him out there, he can have an impact in the game."
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Only time will tell how this trade will or won't work out for these NBA Central Division foes, but if the early returns in training camp are any indication, it appears to be a match made in heaven.
