Cavaliers swap Okoro for Ball, re-sign Merrill

     Two days after the conclusion of the NBA draft, the Cleveland Cavaliers made a one-for-one swap that may have given a possible hint towards the remainder of the team's offseason.

The Cavaliers acquired the talented but injury-plagued point guard Lonzo Ball from the division rival Chicago Bulls for former first-round pick Isaac Okoro in what may show the team's concern for the long-term status of the injured Darius Garland and the retention of free agent Ty Jerome. 

Ball, one of the three Ball brothers, was the second overall pick by the Los Angeles Lakers and seemed to be on the verge of being a very good player before missing two seasons with knee problems.

Ball returned to the Bulls last season, playing in thirty-five games, averaging seven points and three assists in twenty-two minutes per game.

The addition of Ball to the roster could allow the Cavaliers to save money and allow Ty Jerome to sign elsewhere rather than re-sign him at a healthy salary increase.

The Cavaliers were trying to get out of their second-tier status on the salary cap, and with Jerome and Sam Merrill both eligible for free agency, the Cavaliers had to do something with Isaac Okoro and Dean Wade to have a hope of reaching the goal of reducing their cap and keep Jerome and/or Merrill.

It looks like the decision has been made to allow Jerome to leave, as Sam Merrill signed a four-year contract to stay in Cleveland as their instant offense off the bench, and with their drafting of Tyrese Proctor and trading for Lonzo Ball, Cleveland doesn't seem to have the cap space (if they truly are making an effort to drop from the second tier) or the playing time for Ty Jerome.

Isaac Okoro averaged six points and two rebounds in fifty-five games last season, all career-lows, and he never was able to develop an outside shot that the team hoped he would after drafting him fifth overall from Auburn in 2020.

Okoro was the high-end defensive player that Cleveland hoped he would be, but his lack of shooting skill made him almost unplayable in the postseason, and I didn't see anything from Okoro that could change that.

Okoro makes slightly more than Ball (eleven to ten million) and the Cavaliers clean up some contract clutter as Okoro is signed for two years, while Ball is signed for just one followed by a friendly team option.

If Lonzo Ball is able to return to even close to his previous form, the Cavaliers could have exactly what they needed at a bargain price, which is a veteran point guard to run the offense while Darius Garland is away and allow Garland not to push his rehab too hard to return to the court, and when Garland does return, Ball is a solid option off the bench.

If Ball cannot get past his injuries, then they still moved on from Isaac Okoro, which is something, and the Cavaliers can look for a similar player next off-season.

I think it's worth the risk. 

Cavaliers obtain Lauri Markkanen

   The Cleveland Cavaliers used the sign and trade maneuver to land what I consider to be a mild surprise as the Cavaliers added forward Lauri Markkanen from the Chicago Bulls with Cleveland sending popular veteran big man Larry Nance Jr to Portland and a 2023 second-rounder (previously acquired from Denver) to the Bulls as their portion of the three-way deal that included the Portland Trail Blazers.

Markkannen will receive sixty-seven million over the next four years as part of the new contract that he signed with the Bulls on the condition of trading him to Cleveland.

Markkanen was drafted seventh overall by Minnesota in the 2017 draft after Markkanen played one college season at Arizona, but never played for the Timberwolves as he was traded to Chicago as part of a package in a trade for Jimmy Butler.

Markkanen averaged 18.7 points per game in his second season with the Bulls and looked to be developing into a star, but his points and minutes on the floor have decreased in each of the last two seasons.

The 24-year-old Finn did improve his shooting last season to career highs in percentage (.480) and from three-point distance (.402), but his points have fallen from 18 two years ago to 14 and then 13, with his rebounding dropping from 9.0 to 6.3 to last season's 5.3.

Larry Nance Jr's loss may be felt more in the locker room and by the fans than on the court, and Nance at 28 might be more helpful to a contender as a complementary player than for a rebuilding team like Cleveland.

Nance averaged nine points and six boards last season in thirty-five games due to missing time due to injury, but defends the rim well and can extend the floor defensively as well as adding an improved three-point shot last season with a career-high in percentage and attempts.

Now for my take.

I'll miss Larry Nance Jr for his hustle and positive attitude and being a local is always nice to have on your team but even though some fans are screaming "Why not Kevin Love instead", it's easy to say that without considering Love's value (next to none) due to his poor Olympic training camp, his constant injuries and a contract that has proven to be impossible to move.

But at 28 (29 in January), Larry Nance's value is now as he's unlikely to be part of it whenever this team makes their next shot at playoff success, so I can understand why Nance was moved, if disappointed.

Here's the issue- you have just added a seven-footer after drafting Evan Mobley and re-signing Jarrett Allen, who gives you very little outside of his shooting.

Markkanen's rebounding has dropped; he's not very good defensively, and it seems that Cleveland either already is thinking about a future without Jarrett Allen or they are considering playing Markkanen at the three, which seems to be ludicrous to even think about.

Add into this conundrum that Kevin Love makes a ton of money, seems to be without a market for a potential trade, through his agent has refused to entertain thoughts of a buyout, doesn't seem to have a path to playing time, and you have what seems to be a real mess in the Cavaliers organization.

I'm not sure that this doesn't come down to a desperate Koby Altman making one last attempt to avoid another awful season that could cost his job at the end of the year.

Considering Markkanen's flaws against the one thing that he does well with the fact that you won't be able to play Markkanen with Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen (in my opinion, anyway, they may try it but I don't see how it ends well)  with the fact that they appeared to be bidding against themselves to acquire and what could be an impending disaster with the salary cap soon (check out what could be a thirty win team over the cap at the end of the year with Collin Sexton eligible to be an RFA) to see that this may have not only not solved problems- it may have created more and still didn't address the largest issue- a lack of talent at the wing.

Perhaps Lauri Markkanen will re-establish himself as a coming star and prove to be a bargain for the next four seasons but they are several reasons to think that the Cavaliers may not have improved their team for the price that was paid ( the contract/cap issues more than trading Larry Nance Jr) and that could be bad news for Koby Altman, J.B. Bickerstaff, and a frustrated fan base. 

Undermanned Cavaliers top Bulls 103-94

     The Cleveland Cavaliers lost leading scorer Collin Sexton before the game due to a gimpy hamstring, so it could be expected for the Cavaliers to struggle on Trade Deadline Eve in Chicago against the Bulls.

Instead, the Cavaliers received excellent games from the other three top players on the team and surprised the Bulls 103-94.

Darius Garland finished with a near double-double with 22 points and nine assists, Jarrett Allen also barely missed the same feat with 19 points and nine rebounds, and Larry Nance Jr. did manage to pull off a double-double by scoring fourteen points and plucking fourteen rebounds.

Cleveland improved to 17-27 with the win as they deal with the trade deadline tomorrow, the next three games in the west against Los Angeles (Lakers), Sacramento, and Utah and six of the next seven games are on the road.

Swashbucklings

1) Just as the Cavaliers started a seven road games of the next eight-game swing is not the best time to lose your highest scorer, but it was nice to see players stepping up to try to make up the difference.

However, the next three games are all against better teams than the Bulls, and should Collin Sexton miss those games, it's going to take efforts such as these to have even a chance of winning.

2) I haven't been writing as much about the Cavaliers, but I've been watching.

Larry Nance Jr might be the player that if Cleveland placed every player on an available to acquire list that most teams would want first.

Nance has improved his shot and passing and while he may not be the best player on a team, he would be the one player that can help any team.

3) I also wonder about Darius Garland.

On nights like tonight, I think Garland could be a fine player, but he lacks consistency and there are still plenty of questions on a Garland/Sexton backcourt over the long term.

4) If you had to trade either Garland or Sexton, which would you choose?

Sexton's the better player by conventional numbers, but he might be one of those players that scores a lot of points on bad teams and he still hasn't proven that he can settle into a system without the ball.

Garland's shooting has improved, but you still wonder if he isn't a tweener that doesn't shoot well enough to play the two-guard and yet isn't a true point.

5) I doubt the Cavaliers will do very much by the trade deadline.

I think JaVale McGee is the most likely to go, although far from a sure thing and there has been some talk around Cedi Osman.

I'm sure they will try to get anything for Andre Drummond and if anyone had any type of interest in what's left of Kevin Love, the Cavaliers would likely pay them!

6) What I found most interesting came from Sam Amico at FortyEightMinutes.com, but speaking to another general manager (nameless) about which of the Cavaliers young players that he would be interested in acquiring.

https://twitter.com/AmicoHoops/status/1373698856458850304

That makes me wonder about just what Koby Altman's plans for the team are and could the team decide that Altman's plan isn't working and clean house?