The Cleveland Cavaliers are extremely confident in Lonzo Ball’s ability to help them next year. And according to a front office executive who spoke with Keith Smith of Spotrac at Summer League, they see him fitting in beautifully in a variety of ways. The executive mentioned Ball alongside a hoard of other Cavs topics.
“It’s hard being a second apron team, but we think we did well to add some talent,” a Cavs front office executive told Smith. “Thrilled to bring Sam Merrill back. We value his shooting so much. Lonzo (Ball) is really going to help us. He gives us more size and defense in the backcourt, and his passing will be so great for all of our guys. Larry (Nance Jr.) is going to really help our frontcourt a lot. He can play either big spot and that’s huge in a rotation with Evan (Mobley) and Jarrett (Allen). We’re also excited about Tyrese Proctor too. We think he was a tremendous value pick in the second round.”
Adding Ball to the lineup should be a huge help for the Cavs.
How will Lonzo Ball help the Cavs?
Losing Ty Jerome this summer will be a tough pill for the Cavs to swallow next season. He was a top candidate for the Sixth Man of the Year award, and replacing his scoring, creation, and three-point spacing won’t be easy.
However, trading for Ball is a pretty perfect place for Cleveland to start. He may not be the same level of offensive player Jerome was (at least, not in his current state), but he could get there.
At his best, Ball is a solid three-point shooter, decent creator, and elite playmaker. That alone is enough to make him a weapon off the bench for the Cavs.
But the true cherry on top when it comes to Ball is his defense. While Jerome was an elite offensive bench piece for the Cavs, Ball is a much, much better defender, and he’ll be a great tool for Kenny Atkinson to deploy on that end of the court.
The Cavs were already a great defense last season, but adding Ball to their perimeter unit is huge. Isaac Okoro, who was traded for Ball in a straight-up swap, was a nice defensive piece for Cleveland, but Ball’s a huge offensive upgrade over him.
As a Jerome replacement, Ball brings some positives and some negatives. Overall, he’s not an exact one-for-one replacement, but he’ll certainly get the job done.
However, as an Okoro replacement, Ball is perfect. He brings the same defense, but with much better ball-handling and playmaking, and the potential for the three-point shot to be there, too.
And based on the executive’s quote, the Cavs are very high on what he can bring to the table.