Given the limitations of the Cleveland Cavaliers under their present set of financial restrictions, it was remarkable they could pull off such a well-fitting trade acquisition like Lonzo Ball. The drawback here should also be obvious. How many games can the Cavaliers expect to have their new guard available?
A big part of the reason that Cleveland was able to acquire Ball for a straightforward swap of Isaac Okoro with the Chicago Bulls was the long injury history of the former lottery pick. It makes the excitement around their two-way guard shift to cautious optimism.
Rob Mahoney touched on the matter when joining The Zach Lowe Show for a recent episode. It was a mixed bag of feelings when discussing the addition of Ball to the Cavaliers.
Mahoney said, "On the Lonzo front, he is such a great theoretical addition because of the style things. ... He fits the pace that they want to play with ... through action tempo, that he can be a perfect flow guy and a chaos-creating defender. ... He also could be hurt for the majority of the year."
Cavaliers will need to exercise supreme caution to maximize Lonzo Ball experience
Ball should provide the Cavaliers with the blueprint for how their second unit will operate: two-way impact, unselfish play, slots in where and when needed. The trick will be keeping him on the floor to make that impact.
There have already been murmurings that Cleveland is willing to hold Ball out of back-to-backs in the efforts of preserving his health. Chris Fedor suggested those discussions are being had and that is the type of calculated maneuver that is necessary for Lonzo to be available for a postseason impact.
The Cavaliers will only have 14 back-to-back games in the 2025-26 NBA season. That is less than the league average. If the plan is to keep Ball out of those contests, that already guarantees his ceiling for games to go down from a possible 82 maximum to only 68.
Granted, no one should have expected him to play anywhere near the full slate of games to begin with. The magic number for Ball should be 50. Can the Cavaliers point guard surpass that regular season total and get to the NBA Playoffs in contributing form?
If the answer is yes then the Cavaliers will have a difference-maker who should help them get in transition and play lockdown defense. If the answer is no, the Cavaliers will be dependent on running Darius Garland into the ground. History has proven that is a very risky of a strategy.