The NBA offseason’s latest domino fell on Saturday morning as the Chicago Bulls traded point guard Lonzo Ball to the Cleveland Cavaliers for forward Isaac Okoro. While not a deal involving superstar names, the trade has implications for a contending Cavaliers squad, as well as the Bulls in a weak Eastern Conference before the free agency negotiation period begins on June 30.
Here are trade grades and analysis for each side of this Saturday shakeup.
Lonzo Ball trade grades
Cleveland Cavaliers
From the Cavaliers’ perspective, there are multiple factors in the “pros” column of this trade chart.
First and foremost, they add much-needed depth at the guard spot after injuries to stars Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland took a toll during Cleveland’s brief 2024-25 playoff run. While Ty Jerome and Sam Merrill backed them up on the depth chart, both now enter free agency and may not return to the team. That leaves Craig Porter Jr. and new second-round draft pick Tyrese Proctor as the only true guards on the roster, though Max Strus is still around and can slide to the two-guard spot.
If nothing else, Ball provides insurance in the guard rotation if Cleveland can’t retain Jerome and Merrill. While not the player he was before serious knee injuries derailed his career for nearly three years, Ball still provides a stabilizing presence as a passer off the bench. He averaged 7.6 points, 3.3 assists and 3.4 rebounds in 22.2 minutes for the Bulls this past season as he worked his way back to NBA game speed. While he shot just 36.6% from the field and 34.4% from three-point range, there’s hope the 27-year-old can draw closer to his old self once he’s further removed from those knee issues.
The Cavaliers also benefit by sending out Okoro, a 24-year-old forward coming off a career-low 19.1 minutes per game. While the defensive-minded forward still contributed off the bench, there was some chatter he may not feel pleased with his reduced role in Cleveland. With this move, he gets a change of scenery and the Cavaliers don’t have to worry about a possibly-disgruntled player.
Chicago Bulls
Cleveland did need help at the guard spots, but from an outsider’s perspective, the Bulls are the real winners of this trade.
There was much ado on social media regarding Chicago’s guard-heavy roster last season. Josh Giddey, Coby White, Tre Jones, Ayo Dosunmu and Ball all saw rotation minutes alongside Kevin Huerter — arguably a shooting guard rather than small forward. With Ball now on his way to Cleveland, the Bulls free up playing time at point guard and offload one of their older players, not to mention one with a concerning injury history which means he may never recapture his prior form.
In return for Ball, the Bulls acquire a still-young player with extensive experience in the NBA to complement their rotation. Okoro has five professional seasons under his belt with career averages of 8.1 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.6 assists. The production may not sound like much, but the 24-year-old shot 37.1% from three last season and 39.1% from beyond the arc in 2023-24, so he brings some floor-spacing ability to Chicago. While the shooting has come online in recent years, Okoro’s defense remains his calling card. He doesn’t post impressive numbers in the box score, but he’s a talented point-of-attack defender who immediately slots into this Bulls rotation.
While he’s more of a guard/forward combo (like Huerter) than a true forward who plays the three and the four, there will be minutes for Okoro in Chicago — likely more than Cleveland could have offered as they compete for a title, too. As mentioned earlier, the Bulls offload a player who appeared in just 35 games this past season for a young rotation piece with a hint of upside who fits perfectly in their up-tempo system.
Odds impact on DraftKings Sportsbook
The Cleveland Cavaliers currently hold +850 odds on DraftKings Sportsbook to win the 2025-26 NBA Finals, the third-best odds of any team. They’re tied with the New York Knicks on the leaderboard with just the Houston Rockets and Oklahoma City Thunder ahead on the list. It’s also quite notable that the Cavaliers are +260 favorites to win a wide-open Eastern Conference as other contending teams like the Boston Celtics and Indiana Pacers deal with major injuries to top stars.
The Chicago Bulls are listed at +50000 to win the Finals and +13000 to win the Eastern Conference. While long-shots for both, the team isn’t expected to truly contend as they hover somewhere between an outright rebuild and a re-tool, though this move indicates they may prioritize youth moving forward.
