Cavs' Lonzo Ball trade plans revealed by ESPN expert

Billy Heyen

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Cavs' Lonzo Ball trade plans revealed by ESPN expert image

Lonzo Ball was a solid acquisition in theory.

The Cleveland Cavaliers traded Isaac Okoro, an off-ball player, for Ball, someone who could run the point when Darius Garland needed a break.

Ball has stayed healthy, too, which would've been most of the concern at the time.

The problem? Ball hasn't been very good, at all. He's having one of the worst shooting seasons in recent memory.

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And so now, Ball is actually a candidate to be traded away, half a season after he arrived.

ESPN's Bobby Marks wrote in a new article that there'd be a lot of sense in the Cavs sending Ball elsewhere, if they can find takers.

"Although Ball has not suffered any setbacks with his left knee, his production has been inconsistent," Marks writes. "Ball averaged at least 22 minutes in the first three months of the season, but he has seen his minutes per game drop to 13.0 in January. Ball is shooting a career-worst 31.2% from the field and 27.6% on 3s."

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Salary-wise, Cleveland is pretty limited by the second apron luxury tax, but they could still pull something off.

"If the Cavaliers move off his $10 million salary this season, their luxury tax penalty would drop from $164 million to $102 million," Marks writes. "Because there is no financial liability next season (Ball has a $10 million team option for 2026-27), Cleveland also could wait until the offseason to make a decision. The Cavs are a second-apron team and are not allowed to combine Ball's salary with another player in a trade."

The Cavaliers have been helped in a major way by the emergence of Craig Porter Jr. As a quality backup to Garland.

Ball's days in Cleveland may be numbered.

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Contributing Writer