The Cleveland Cavaliers have made a bold move regarding the fate of a former No. 2 overall lottery pick on their roster.
After posting the best regular season record in the Eastern Conference last season, 64-18, Cleveland appeared poised for, possibly, its first post-LeBron James NBA Finals berth.
Instead, waylaid by injuries to several key contributors, the Cavaliers were knocked out of the playoffs in a five-game second-round series defeat to the Indiana Pacers.
Cleveland's new addition facing stern restrictions
Heading into 2025-26, the Cavaliers are better positioned than even last year for a deep playoff run — by benefit, in part, of Achilles tendon tears incurred by the best players on the Pacers and Boston Celtics.
Cleveland and the New York Knicks have the best healthy remaining rosters in the conference.
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The Cavaliers opted to retain most of their core personnel this summer, although they did need to bring in some bench playmaking when Sixth Man of the Year candidate Ty Jerome departed in free agency for the Memphis Grizzlies.
So the Cavaliers flipped 10th man wing Isaac Okoro, already looking like a draft bust after being picked in the 2020 lottery, to the Chicago Bulls in exchange for 3-and-D point guard Lonzo Ball.
Now, Cleveland has apparently instituted some restrictions to Ball's allocation during at least the beginning of the season.
“Back-to-backs are off the table for right now,” Ball revealed, per Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. “Doesn’t mean it’s off the table for the whole year, but definitely the start.”
The 6-foot-6 UCLA product enjoyed his first-semi-healthy season since 2021-22 last year. Three knee surgeries had thrown his future into question. In 2024-25, Ball was only available for 35 games with Chicago before being shut down once again, this time with a wrist injury.
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Ball's effort in training camp thus far has impressed the reigning Coach of the Year. It will behoove the Cavaliers to keep him healthy for what the team hopes will be an extended playoff run.
“He hasn’t disappointed,” Cleveland coach Kenny Atkinson said. “Everything that we thought we were getting, we’re getting. He’s just got a great, great feel. I’m excited to coach any NBA player, but this is a guy I’ve watched for a long time. He’s kind of the ultimate system fit.”
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