The Chicago Bulls trade Lonzo Ball to the Cleveland Cavaliers for Isaac Okoro plus more news!
what is good YouTube quinn Wade coming to y’all with that instant basketball analysis hot topic today the biggest news when it comes to trades and acquisitions is Lonzo Ball getting traded for Isaac Aoro if I’m Lonzo Ball I’m looking at it like I got paid I’m back healthy and I get a chance to help a team that was a contender when it comes to the regular season yeah they didn’t do their thing in the playoffs and they was a little disappointing but the East is a lot weaker next year the Cavaliers didn’t really have any major injuries plus the minor injuries they did sustain should be healed up before the season even start so I’m looking at it if I’m Lonzo Ball like this is a great situation for me to be in and I feel like I should be feeling amazing going to the Cleveland Cavaliers now you Isaac Aoro not the worst situation chicago is obviously not better than a situation like Cleveland which you was able to get you know some recognition and start and play well from time to time there obviously you know you rather stay there than go to Chicago but Chicago has the ability to pay you more money although you also might get a bigger role than you would in Cleveland being in Chicago but if I had to be honest in my personal opinion I don’t look at Isaac AOR as a star i don’t look at him becoming a a big star but he is going to be a good role player that can defend and probably knock down a three or get to the basket or get out in transition whether you get a steal or he gets the steal he’s a solid player but I definitely think that the Bulls player Lonzo Ball was a better player than um Isaac Coral the trouble is can he stay healthy lonzo Ball been injured and banged up a whole lot um he can shoot the three he is a switchable guard can guard the one two and three sometimes because he is athletic he is big he is strong for that guard position so Lonzo is a lot more versatile he’s more modern because he can shoot the three he’s a willing passer he’s unselfish he can fit in about anywhere the problem is he just can’t stay on the court and other than that I feel like Lonzo Ball is a better player if he can but Cleveland felt some way about Isaac Accord they liked him they drafted him but they just felt like we have a higher ceiling we can do better if we have a guy like Lonzo plus they are a team that don’t really need him to really do that much they got Donovan Mitchell they got Darius Garland we don’t know what else they’re going to do with their roster this off season because free agency hasn’t really technically started even though you can’t see people signing you can see people trading because of the contracts and the rules and con allows them to be able to make these moves and do these things um a little earlier than some other players in some other situations but cav space basically locked up for most teams so not too many teams can go out there and splurge the teams that could kind of made moves already or they just trying to fine-tune their roster and cut around the edges um to get ready for the next season i think these things going to wrap up a lot faster a lot quicker because you can’t really do as much right now and most teams can’t either but I do look at the fact that um this was a trade that I was surprised that happened um when it comes to what I’m seeing get moved but when you look at both players I feel like for the reasons that they’re getting traded for makes sense for both teams to a certain extent but Chicago you know they’ve been trying to be a defensive place even though most of their players are more offensive they’re trying to change that now and that’s why they try to bring in Lonzo for the first part of um his his stint there those first couple years they thought that he would be a guy that can do so much and bring so much versatility to their team and he just could never get on the court and stay there so although they did like him and although they did believe in him although they did want him sometimes deals can work out like that a lot of people thought that deal was good a lot of people thought that when they gave him more more years was a good thing because they never gave up or quit on him but the man just couldn’t stay healthy and that’s a risk that you take sometimes and it’s part of the game and it’s an ugly part of the business it’s an ugly part of the game in general and none of us like it even as fans but you know he has been stripped of a lot of his greatness he has been stripped of a lot of his reputation he has been stripped a little bit of his identity because he hasn’t been able to show people what he can do enough and when he does is already over so quickly but hopefully things can turn around for Lonzo and hopefully he can stay healthy for a longer period of time and really show what he can do on a basketball court again this was a number two pick in the NBA draft so people really was high on him people really liked him people thought he was a differencemaker people even looked at him as a culture changer when he came into the league none of those things is how people feel anymore which is unfortunate and it sucks and it things can change quickly especially when you give people reason and factual evidence that indicate that it’s some truth to what people should be feeling about him now but he had said that his knee is basically totally reconstructed and he still believes that he can contribute to a team he still believes that he can play and he still feels like he can help a team win and I feel like that’s true but now we just have to see it and I just don’t think a team like Cleveland is going to use him too much and that just going to be good enough not to burn him out and they could use size at that position we’ve seen Darius Garland get picked on time and time again in the playoffs so it does make sense for them to put a bigger guard out there sometimes and and even just play him at the two sometimes defensively or even the three just because he still is a competitive player and he doesn’t like to get you know one up as he has been one up like most NBA players have but he doesn’t like to give it up and that’s what you have to like is that fierceness that he gives but other than that I do feel that Isaac Aoro is a player that you see him and you hear his name you see him play and you just want more you just think he can be more you just think he can do more you feel like he can be something and then you realize he’s just a good player that’s it you know he’s just good at what he does and he’s not a terrible player he’s not a bad player he’s not a great player not a superstar player not a star player and that’s about it but you know um the Bulls made an impressive recovery to get back from missing parts um of four seasons due to multiple knee surgeries basically what Lonzo Ball had did he did appear in 35 of the Chicago Bulls games last season and he did look pretty healthy even though his knee has been totally reconstructed as he has really been struggling with that knee and he’s literally finally getting confident in his game and confident in what he can be and what he can do again and Lonzo Ball did average seven points and three rebounds and three assists and 22 minutes per game last season and don’t forget late in the year Ball did sign a 2-year 20 million extension with the Bull that deal includes a $10 million player option for the 2026 2027 season okoro for those that don’t know signed a three-year $33 million contract with the Cavaliers just last season um so he’s still gonna be under that contract too and it’s longer than Lonzo’s and Lonzo has the ability to be gone if he does or if the team does um choose not to bring him back so if it works they’re good if it doesn’t work they can just let him go and go in a different direction or they can just use him as a trade ship if another team is interested in taking a flyer on him he saw his role reduced with the Cleveland Cavaliers last season isaac Aoro did falling behind Mas and DeAndre Hunter they bigger they’re stronger they can shoot better so it makes sense for them to go in that direction because they can do more for their team on and off the ball while not giving too much of defensively either and that’s why Zil Cororo was known for his size his athleticism and his potential to be a two-way player or we call it three and D player in this league um other than that the Bulls had a lot of guards under contract which is true so it’s tried let’s flip one that we like for a wing and try to go in a different direction there because the contract that Isaac Aor is under is basically to me in my personal opinion really really similar to the one that Lonzo Ball is under two so they’re not really gaining or losing too much traction there um the calves rotation is basically going to be solidified at this point they can’t really do too many moves but this was a small minor move i don’t think going to change a lot or make a huge difference but it is something that they wanted to try to do and make sense for them to go in this direction if they feel like a guy can do them you know some justice and the Bulls had a lot of guards under contract like I said and are likely to resign Josh Giddy this off season and they’re trying to add a defensive wing and that was the purpose of them getting rid of a guard at a bigger wing and Isaac Aoro and that can balance out their roster um by adding ball Cleveland protects themselves against potentially losing Ty Jerome who is a unrestricted free agent this summer so that’s another thing to look at he was one of their best players off the bench and they wanted to keep him around to the point where they even got rid of George’s Nank and Caris Levert just to show him that you’re the guy we like you’re the guy we need and now they’re showing full commitment to that with this move and that makes sense and it always has if you if you get these guys in and you know what they can do and you know it translate and they fit in your rotation they fit in your system and they have been one of your most productive players why wouldn’t you reward them why wouldn’t you show them that you’re appreciated and you’re needed and that’s what the Cavaliers have done for years and now they’re just doing that again and the Bulls are doing the same josh Giddy was fantastic for them last year and why not continue to try to see what he can offer and see what he can do you gave up a Caruso although he won a championship you get a young guy that can do so many things rebound pass score um defend a little bit and also p also play in transition those things are key to winning basketball games and he helped them win a lot of basketball games last year it just they didn’t win enough to make the playoffs which is unfortunate but it was a step in the right direction because they weren’t that far from that other than that um they another big thing that we found out is that the LeBron is expected to pick up his $52 million player option with the Lakers that’s a lot of money and a lot of teams can’t afford to take on that contract but he is still one of the top players in the world and he has been basically his entire career so I don’t really blame him for getting that type of money and the Lakers are in a great position when it comes to being able to make the playoffs again in the Western Conference they still need a lot of work with that roster if they’re going to win the championship but LeBron said he’s not going to be hanging around that much longer so I guess this is the last dance with the Lakers if it works it works if it doesn’t he at least he tried and he know that they’re going to do whatever it takes for them to try to win we just got to see what moves and things they do not just in the offseason but also at the trade deadline also at the buyout market later next year and other than that um LeBron is picking up that option it will it will leave enough room to sign a player via the 5.7 million taxpayer midlevel exception this is somewhat dependent on for Dorian Finny Smith who has a 15.4 4 million player option of his own for the next season so they are waiting on that and we’re going to see what they do in that situation um other than that Julius Randle is in Wolves they are expected to sign a new contract they did get to the Western Conference they was able to get off that Carnthony Towns contract and still have similar success without him um but the Minnesota took care of Nas Reed in fold by agreeing to a five-year $125 million contract next up is believed to be another front court signing which is going to be Julius Randall randall already holds a 30.9 million player option for next season that’s been a belief that Randall and the Wolves will come to agreement on a long-term deal randle’s not that old so it makes sense for them to try to keep him because they do need to keep that position um as great as they can if they want to continue to win with Anthony Edwards randall could pick up that option then sign the extension or Randall can decline that option and sign a deal just like Nas Reed ended up doing either way Minnesota may look to bring Julius Randle’s salary figure uh on for next season down from the 30.9 million he’s currently owed that could give the Timberwolves the ability to stay under the Sacred Apron or possibly create some tax savings to resign one of the best players they had off the bench Nail Alexander Walker who is also looking to get paid and by the way Nas Reed and the Wolves agreed to a five-year $125 million contract a lot of people didn’t even expect Mas Reed to be in the league and now he’s getting paid $125 million he’s a good player he’s one of their better players and he’s one of the best players at this position a sixman of the year winner showing you how good and how valuable he is in this league and how much they do need to you know value him and they ended up doing it very quickly really took no time for them to get this deal done reed who is represented by Sean Kennedy will decline his 15 million player option for the 202526 season to sign the new contract the contract includes a player option in the fifth year allowing him to go back into free agency if he chooses to and reup with the Wolves or whoever team he’s on providing reed will eventually security and flexibility when he is 30 but just showing you how young this team still is although they’re having a lot of success and we’ve been seeing that a lot in the NBA lately reed previously signed a three-year $42 million contract in June 2023 and now he signs a big one in 2025 reed did average 14.6 rebounds and two assists last season after winning six men of the year in 2024 reed is one of the best power force centers in the league because he can shoot the three get to the basket set screens and also spread the floor and space the floor at that position and that’s something that is very valuable in this league pistons were preparing to offer um Nas Reed a contract but it didn’t really happen because he signed back with the Minnesota Timberwolves very quickly not only that DaVon Mitchell he’d agreed to a two-year 200 and well $24 million contract obviously he ain’t gonna be making 200 million he’s not that type of player but DaVon Mitchell was one of the best players on their roster last year the man brought great defense great competitiveness um he was able to hit his threes a little bit too um in the 30 games the 6 foot 6’2 guard averaged 10 points two rebounds and five assists and 31 minutes per game mitchell also shot 50% from the field including 45% on 3.1 three-point attempts per game that’s really good to see and it’s really fun to see people care and want to play defense at the highest level and take pride in it to do it the best way that they can and that’s what Miami Heat want they want guys that’s going to do whatever it takes to stay in shape and whatever it takes to win and at least you know Deaon Mitchell is one of those guys you would love to go to war with if you had the opportunity and if you had the chance and that’s why Miami got him and that’s why they showed that they want to keep him a little longer we’ll see if he fulfills those two years with Miami but even if he don’t the man deserve his pay and he got it sam Errol Cavaliers agreed to four-year $ 38 million contract that’s not a surprise that was one of their priorities besides Ty Jerome was to get Sam Hero to be locked up a little longer the man can shoot that three ball really well and can handle the ball too the Cavaliers made a decision on him very quickly even after getting Lonzo Ball in that trade that I mentioned earlier in this video Merill did play 71 games so he was healthy for majority of it and really was used highly in their rotation he did average seven points as a shooting specialist off the Cleveland Cavaliers bench merrill did shoot 37% on 5.2 three-point attempts per game and that’s really above average and that’s really needed in the modern game that we watch and see each and every day and he brings that to the table easily the deal averaging 9.5 million per season is significant uh windfall for Mirrol prior to landing this contract the 29year-old guar has played on a minimum contract while in the NBA and now he gets a little bit of boost um with this new deal and he welld deserved it he played a great pivotal role for their success being number one in the Eastern Conference and now they treated him like a priority and made him a lot of money now and he he deserved it he was going to get his big payday now he gets it now we’re going to see how long he’s going to hang around in the league and continue to help teams win basketball games nicholas Patun he’s going to decline his 4.9 player option with the Clippers that’s a little bit of a shocker but the Clippers forward is going to decline it he will become an unrestricted free agent on July 1st nicholas Batum the Clippers have interest in signing a new contract though clippers can give Batum a modest bump that he deserves by being a long switchable forward that can play multiple positions and also stretch the floor with his three-point shooting ability and he still is a good defender um at his age but 5.6 million is all they really looking to give him using his non bird rights and he’s trying to get as much money as he can before his career is over and you can’t hate it you can’t knock that because you put in the work you get it for that reason um the Clippers could also use a portion of their non- taxpayer mid-level reception to give Batum a large firstear salary the 17-year-old veteran appeared in 78 games basically the entire season and still gave him four points two rebounds and 17 minutes per game in the regular season and in the playoffs Nicholas Batum averaged five points three rebounds and 24 minutes and he did shoot 39% from three which is really really good and one of the biggest reasons why they gave the Denver Nuggets trouble in that first round series that went seven games and unfortunately they ended up losing that series justin Edwards and the Sixers agreed to a three-year contract he’s not going to get paid that much money but he did um ended up getting declined because he had a team option and it was only for 1.9 million um Reed will receive two guaranteed season on the new contract and that’s what you really want you want to be in the league and you want to make sure you get your money um even if it’s a small amount compared to other players so that was a wise decision of him and his his team um he will earn 2 million next year after his promising rookie season edwards did appear in 44 games last year with the Sixers he did average double figures 10 points three rebounds and one assist in 26 minutes reed also shot 36% from three on four three-pointers per game the Sixers converted Evers from a two-way standard contract in February last season and in 18 games in the GLeague he averaged 17 points three rebounds and one assist edwards who went undrafted out of Kentucky in 2024 is represented by Rich Paul you know he’s going to bargain you know he’s going to negotiate you know he’s going to find a way to fight for his players to get the right deal and if they don’t they’re going to go somewhere else and get it anyway that’s a reputation Rich Paul has and that’s what he’s been able to do and he has done it again spurs interested in signing Gershon Yabaselli we’ll see what happens with that other than that um Trailblazers did exercise the team option on Ryan Rupert so he’ll be coming back u Chris Paul is determined to play in the West for a West Coast team the Spurs like him um also the Dallas Mavericks like him we’ll see what Chris Paul and his team and his family decides to do he still wanted in the NBA we’ll see if somebody picks him up the Knicks do also exercise team options for Keon Johnson Tyrese M martin also Drew Timmy and also Jaylen Wilson warriors do 10 uh Warriors tender Jonathan Kaminga um 7.9 qualifying offer that’s all they can do so they might as well try to do that anyway um everybody else is just rumors just conversations going on nobody’s really leaving or going like I said not too much cap space out there for other teams and there’s not too many things that can really happen for that reason sixers also did decline on Jared Butler so he’s going to be free um for somebody to pick up or they can probably try to renegotiate a better deal andre Drummond did pick up his $5 million option like you should with the Philadelphia 76ers so that’s official maxwell Lewis was also waved by the Nets they have a lot of guards and a lot of wings so they have to cut one of them or two of them so they made that move already rockets did resign Jan Tate Aaron Holiday and Jeff Green they’re quality role players off the bench that knows what they’re trying to do and they still have a lot of good game left in them and they all are good athletes and all are good players at their position and they all don’t really make that much money either so you better off keeping them and I was just being honest with you um Deink Pay did agree to a contract with the Knicks that was good to see since he did go undrafted we’ll see how long he stays in the league um other than that I’ll probably be back tomorrow with more analysis on the NBA and free agency because it’s going to be ongoing for the next couple weeks i will be back with more summer league analysis as I usually do go to Las Vegas for summer league and if I don’t I do watch it anyway so we might do some instant analysis on summer league for to give y’all something to watch don’t forget I do do breakdowns with real footage so I might do Cooper flag breakdown in summer league i’m definitely going to do it during the regular season you’re going to get guys like Ace Bailey League Dylan Harper and all those things so don’t forget about that i don’t really have a problem with Lonzo Ball um I got respect for him he made it to the league he was a good player in college and he’s still fighting to stay in the league to this day and he showed that he still can play and he still deserves a role in this game and I give him credit for that because that’s factual but I also will say comment like subscribe and share hit the notification bell for more analysis and if you’re new to this channel I do conversation video just like this but I also do breakdowns of real footage of legends current legends rookies also future stars also do my draft and draft coverage and not only that I also have over 3,000 plus videos on my channel that you can watch and enjoy already not only that I also upload basketball content each and every day that I’m living so if I’m living you getting some basketball content and it’s basically going to be the NBA so if you love that type of stuff this is the channel for you to check out and want to be subscribed to if you can’t live without basketball you can’t live without NBA i’m a hoopers hooper so if this is the first time seeing me this is the first time hearing from me once you watch my old content you will become a fan i guarantee it other than that hope you guys enjoyed your weekday we are already back to the weekend as quick and as fast as that can be but we have so much more things to do i got more tributes coming more breakdowns coming summer league analysis coming season previews coming and also more free agency news coming so that’s going to give you something to look forward to all summer in the fall and even the winter even next year so as if I’m living you getting content you’re getting something to watch other than that I’m gone see y’all later peace out y’all stay blessed remember let’s try to make 2025 a better year than 2015 that’s the number one goal of this channel this year that was the blueprint for this channel and was really big in making this channel what it is and why it’s around 10 plus years later and I’ve been a pioneer for NBA only content on YouTube and I’m still doing it to this day and that’s one of the funnest things other than that I’m gone for now peace out y’all stay blessed up and continue to watch my content continue to stay subscribed continue to appreciate the content for what it is now I thank y’all for that because y’all really don’t have to because there’s so many other channels making basketball content too but y’all still make time for Quinn Wade and his analysis and I love y’all and appreciate y’all just for that even though most of y’all don’t really know in person but some of you guys do and have met me and y’all have been fans and thank y’all for supporting me in the past in the present and I would be blessed if y’all continue to do it even in the future other than that I’m gone for now see y’all later peace out
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