The Chicago Bulls are moving on from Lonzo Ball.
Chicago is trading the veteran guard to the Cleveland Cavaliers in exchange for Isaac Okoro, sources told ESPN’s Shams Charania.
Ball had been with the Bulls since the 2021-22 campaign but missed all of 2022-23 and 2023-24 due to knee issues. He tore the meniscus in his left knee midway through his debut season in Chicago and eventually missed the remainder of the campaign due to persistent pain throughout his recovery. He underwent a rare cartilage and meniscus transplant in March 2023, extending his absence but allowing him to return for the 2024-25 season opener.
He averaged 7.6 points, 3.3 assists, 3.4 rebounds, and 1.3 steals in 35 games last season for the Bulls, who signed him to a two-year, $20-million extension in February.
Okoro is coming off his fifth NBA season, all of which he spent with the Cavs. He missed 21 of 27 games between late December and early February after spraining the AC joint in his right shoulder, limiting him to a career-low 55 appearances in 2024-25. As a result, he fell in the Cavs’ rotation, going from 27.3 minutes per game to 19.1 and averaging a career-worst 6.1 points and 2.4 rebounds.
Ball gives Cleveland another pure point guard to back up starter Darius Garland. He also serves as a contingency option for Ty Jerome; the 27-year-old guard will hit unrestricted free agency Monday, and he will almost certainly command a heftier contract than the two-year, $5-million deal he signed with the Cavaliers in 2023.
Okoro, 24, fits the profile for a new-look Bulls squad that boasted seven players aged 25 or younger who averaged at least 15 minutes per game last season. The organization also added 6-foot-9 French forward Noa Essengue with the 12th overall pick in this year’s draft.
You can view the original article HERE.
