The Cleveland Cavaliers pulled off a surprising trade on Saturday, sending longtime wing Isaac Okoro to the Chicago Bulls in return for point guard Lonzo Ball. It's the kind of move that likely signals the end of the Ty Jerome era in Cleveland.
The Cavaliers love having Ty Jerome on their roster. He has been an ideal fit in every way as a positive piece of their culture, a hyper-efficient offensive weapon who had a special season this past year on a bargain contract. In a perfect world, they would bring him back on a long-term contract that is well-deserved.
The problem is that the world is not perfect; instead, the NBA puts harsh penalties on teams who spend above a certain amount. The Cavaliers are already above the "second tax apron" before a new contract for Jerome, and re-signing him to a new deal could cost as much as $90 million in payroll and tax, as well as taking them deeper into the second apron with all of the team-building restrictions that come with that.
Yet Jerome played a crucial role on last year's team, as evidenced by the way that Cleveland struggled when Darius Garland missed time in the playoffs. The Cavaliers will need another ball-handler in the cast of Jerome's departure -- and in the last few days they took the necessary steps to prepare for him to leave.
On Thursday night's NBA draft they selected Duke guard Tyrese Proctor as future guard depth, and on Saturday morning they pulled of a surprise trade out-of-nowhere for Chicago Bulls guard Lonzo Ball.
Cavaliers traded for Lonzo Ball
One of the difficulties for the Cavaliers cutting salary this offseason was that they like all of the players on their roster, and most of them are properly paid. The one exception was Isaac Okoro, who has been a valuable player for the team since he was drafted No. 5 by the team in the 2020 NBA Draft.
Yet he was making $11 million and was not crucial to the team's primary rotation, making him an obvious candidate to be traded. It was thought that the Cavaliers would have to attach an asset to move off of his contract entirely, but instead the front office found a trade partner who was willing to swap players without any added draft compensation from Cleveland.
As first reported by Shams Charania, the Cavaliers are sending Okoro to the Chicago Bulls for Lonzo Ball, a straight-up one-for-one trade. Ball makes just $10 million, saving the Cavaliers a million this season and $1.9 million next year. What's more, Ball's contract has a team option for 2026-27, so Cleveland can get out of his deal entirely if they need to.
Ball has had an injury-ravaged last half-decade, but last season he was able to come back mostly healthy and reestablish his NBA career. He is a capable ball-handler but also has the shooting ability to play off-ball, and he has always been a solid defender despite his reputation coming out of college. Once the No. 2 pick in the draft, Ball has failed to deliver on that potential, but he is the type of connecting piece that every team would love to have.
In short, the Cavaliers just won this deal on every level. Ball is insurance if Ty Jerome leaves, fits perfectly with the Cavs' on-ball stars, and is on a bargain contract. He does have real injury risk, but if healthy he makes this team better, cheaper and better able to move forward without Jerome. This is an unquestioned victory for the Cleveland front office.
Perhaps Jerome does come back and the Cavs bite the bullet for a season. More likely, this trade for Lonzo Ball indicates that Ty Jerome is on his way out -- and it's hard to see a better backup plan the team could have pursued at this asset price.