Cleveland Beefs Up Backcourt After Landing Lonzo Ball

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

The Cleveland Cavaliers kicked off their first major NBA off-season signing after acquiring point guard Lonzo Ball from the Chicago Bulls confirmed on June 28, 2025.

After exiting the recently concluded NBA Playoffs in the semifinal round despite holding home court advantage as the No.1 team in the Eastern Conference, the Cavaliers faced another post-season road bump and were again questioned if they have the right personnel to finally return to the NBA Finals.

Darius Garland’s injury became a huge hole in Cleveland’s semifinal series against the Indiana Pacers, and adding a backup pure point guard was the first on the list in their quest to fortify their rotation flaws.

In exchange for Ball, the Cavaliers bade goodbye to Isaac Okoro, one of their trusted 3-and-D guys who spent the last five years of his young career playing in Cleveland.

Selected fifth overall during the 2020 NBA Rookie Draft, Okoro quickly became a rotation player for the Cavaliers and was inserted several times into the starting five when his three-point shooting improved from 2023-2025.

However, injuries took a toll on his expected rise during the 2024-2025 season, and his small forward spot was taken over by Georges Niang.

On the other hand, the Ball trade was evaluated as a C grade by most NBA insiders as the guy that they wished for was also an injury-prone point guard.

During his stay with the Bulls, Ball missed two full NBA seasons from 2022-2024 due to complicated knee injuries.

The former 2017 second overall pick underwent a meniscus and cartilage transplant in his left knee two years ago, but only played a total of 35 games during the 2024-2025 NBA season.

Ball averaged 7.6 points, 3.4 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 1.3 steals per game but is yet to reach optimum state after dealing with those two major surgeries.

The floor general will serve as a backup facilitator to Garland and will have to complement the play style of Donovan Mitchell, Cleveland’s franchise player, who mostly played the point guard role during the playoffs.