Why Lonzo Ball Was Traded Again

Why Lonzo Ball Was Traded Again

ball returned from a two-year absence in the 2024-2 season appearing in 35 games cavs will be reportedly sending Isaac Aoro back to Chicago the Cleveland Cavaliers are acquiring Lonzo Ball in a trade with the Chicago Bulls
the Chicago Bulls just made another headscratching move that has everyone asking the same thing what the hell is this franchise doing they just traded Lonzo Ball to the Cleveland Cavaliers for Isaac Aoro and when you see the full picture of what Chicago has been up to over the past year you’re going to be absolutely mindb blown by how badly they mismanaged this rebuild but here’s the thing and stick around because I’m going to break down this entire trade completely because it’s fairly complicated the Cavaliers may have just pulled off the steel of the year or they may have just traded for a player whose career could be over at any moment and by the end of this video you’ll understand exactly why both teams made this move and whether it’s actually genius or completely insane because Lonzo Ball’s injury history is absolutely terrifying but the Chicago Bull’s recent trade history is so bad that it won’t really make you feel so confident in Chicago’s latest trade we’re talking about a franchise that traded away Zack Lavine Demar De Rozan and Alex Caruso in the past year and somehow didn’t get a single first round pick back not a single one and wait until you hear what the Cleveland Cavaliers are truly planning with this trade so before we get to the content we’ve been on an absolute tear on this channel uploading two to three times a day to make sure you are up to date with the latest NBA news and analysis we already uploaded a video earlier today on the latest in the Ace Bailey situation and that situation is absolutely wild so if you want to make sure you’re up to date with the latest NBA news make sure you’re subscribed have your notifications on follow us on Instagram X and Tik Tok to make sure you are always up to date and now that we got all that out of the way cue the intro [Music] [Music] everybody so for those of you guys that missed it Shams dropped a bomb earlier today that the Chicago Bulls traded Lonzo Ball straight up for Isaac Aoro from the Cleveland Cavaliers no picks no additional players just a one forone swap now before you start thinking this is just some random offseason trade you need to understand the context the Cavaliers just came off of a 64-18 season their best record in franchise history they earned the number one seed in the East but they got bounced in the second round by Indiana in just five games and their lack of backcourt depth was exposed badly for the Chicago Bulls this is just the latest move in what can only be described as one of the most confusing rebuilds in recent NBA history but we’ll get to that disaster in just a minute here’s what the Chicago Bulls have done in the past 12 months they traded three of their biggest stars and somehow got a worse return than I would have if I was building this team in NBA 2K My League let’s start with Zack Lavine in February of 2025 they sent him to Sacramento in a three-team trade zack Lavine would then go on to put up his best career shooting numbers 51.1% from the field and 44.6% from three but that massive $215 million contract originally made him nearly impossible to move but what did Chicago get back kevin Herder Trey Jones Zack Collins and their own first round pick then there’s Demar De Rozan and this one hurts even more demar D Rozan left in a signing trade to Sacramento in July of 2024 and remember this is a guy who finished second in NBA clutch player of the year voting and what did the Bulls get for an elite clutch performer chris Dwarte two second round picks and cash considerations that’s it they basically sold low on one of the most clutch players in the league and then there was the Alex Caruso trade they swapped the twotime alldefensive team members straight up for Josh Giddy last summer now don’t get me wrong josh Giddy proved to us this past year that he has a tremendous amount of potential but you’re trading elite defense and veteran leadership for a young player who had question marks on defense and on shooting and here’s the kicker in all three of these trades the Bulls didn’t get a single legitimate first round pick back they only got their own first round pick back and that’s just poor asset management so what exactly is Chicago’s plan here while their general manager has refused to call this a rebuild but instead he’s calling it a youth movement where he’s focused on experienced young guys but let’s be real when you trade away Zack Lavine Demar D Rozan Alex Caruso and now Lonzo Ball and you finished 39 and 43 missing the playoffs for the third straight year that’s a rebuild whether you want to admit it or not and that’s the thing you don’t need to be a genius to know that the Chicago Bulls are in a rebuild the thing is they’re doing it all wrong most rebuilding teams stockpile draft picks and young assets the Bulls are trading established players for other established players and somehow getting worse in the process it’s like they’re trying to rebuild without actually rebuilding now let’s talk about Lonzo Ball because this story is honestly one of the most heartbreaking stories in recent NBA history remember the hype surrounding Lonzo Ball when he got drafted magic Johnson literally came out and said
“Just leave me one or two records okay that’s that’s it.” You know all right don’t break all my records just I I want your grandfather just let him leave me one okay
they traded their existing point guard just so they could build around him for crying out loud this dude had his dad claiming that he was better than Steph Curry the media circus was insane big baller brand was everywhere and everyone thought this kid was going to be the next Magic Johnson or Steph Curry with the 50-in vertical miss you Mike he even won summer league MVP in 2017 and became the youngest player ever to record a triple double the potential was clearly there great size at 6’6 elite court vision and solid defensive instincts but here’s where the story takes a dark turn and this is honestly heartbreaking when you really think about it lonzo has played just 252 games across eight seasons for context a healthy player should play around 600 to 652 games in that span that’s less than half the games he should have played the injury saga with Chicago is where things get really scary on January 14th 2022 Ball suffered what initially was called a small meniscus tear with a 4 to 6 week recovery timeline and that turned into missing 1,013 days over 2 and 1/2 years for what was supposed to be a minor injury what happened next is honestly unprecedented in NBA history ball underwent three different surgeries in March 2023 he had a meniscus and cartilage transplant a procedure that no NBA player had ever attempted before ball himself would say that there was no more meniscus left and it was bone on bone rubbing together just imagine the pain this guy was dealing with the injury was so serious that the Ball family even met the family of the man who donated the knee cartilage that he received in the transplant he literally needed someone else’s body parts to keep playing basketball and the comeback story seemed promising when Ball returned last October after missing over a thousand days bulls fans gave him a standing ovation and for a moment it felt like a fairy tale comeback but reality hit hard he only played in 35 games before a wrist injury ended his season early in those limited appearances Ball averaged 7.6 points 3.4 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game on 36.6% shooting from three those are solid numbers but they were a far cry from the franchise cornerstone expectations that came with being the number two overall pick so you might be wondering why would the Cavaliers trade for a guy with such a scary injury history well their reasoning makes a lot of sense when you take a look at their current situation first Cleveland just had their best regular season ever with a 64-18 record but they got exposed in the playoffs their lack of backcourt depth and playmaking under pressure proved fatal in that second round loss to Indiana but here’s the key detail that makes this trade make sense darius Garland just had toe surgery and will be out for four to 5 months that’s their all-star point guard and now they need someone who can handle playmaking duties while he recovers their backup guard Ty Jerome is headed for unrestricted free agency and here’s the problem the Cavaliers are $12 million over the second luxury tax apron retaining Jerome at his expected $14 million price tag was financially impossible so what does Lonzo Ball bring to Cleveland well Ball provides exactly what their general manager identified as needs size in the back court at 6’6 defensive versatility and the playmaking ability to reduce pressure on Donovan Mitchell plus Ball’s contract is team friendly at just $10 million with a team option for the 2026 to 27 season that gives Cleveland flexibility while addressing an immediate need for Isaac Aoro his time in Cleveland had reached a natural end point after being selected fifth overall in 2020 he saw his role diminish under their brand new head coach Kenny Atkinson averaging career lows in minutes at just 19.7 per game despite improving his three-point shooting to 37% despite these improvements Aoro was still a very limited offensive player and played exclusively off the bench in the playoffs cleveland.com reported that the Cavaliers had a hard time finding anybody that has legitimate interest in Aoro with teams wanting additional assets to take on his 11 million annual salary analysts say that if Ball can stay healthy then this is a win and an upgrade for Cleveland on the court but there’s an obvious elephant in the room the only reason you can’t give the Cavaliers an A for this trade is because of Ball’s medical history he just missed two full seasons due to knee injuries from Chicago’s perspective acquiring a 24year-old Aoro fits their stated philosophy of adding experienced young players to their developing core with increased opportunity alongside Josh Giddy and Kobe White the Bulls are betting that they can unlock the potential that made Isaac Aoro a top five pick so Lonzo’s role is definitely not what we expected it to be 8 years ago this trade likely cementss his transition from potential franchise player to a valuable role player at 27 years old with a surgically reconstructed knee that he admits will never restore his original athleticism ball ceiling appears to be as a smart defensive-minded backup point guard who can provide 20 to 25 quality minutes per game when healthy honestly that’s exactly what Cleveland needs they’re not looking for a star they’ve got Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley for that they need a stabilizing veteran presence who can guide their second unit and fill in for Garland during his recovery for the Cavaliers this is a calculated gamble that makes sense for their championship window they just won 64 games and have one of the best young cores in the league with Mitchell Garland Mobly and Jared Allen adding a veteran playmaker with playoff experience even one with injury concerns addresses their biggest weakness but the risk is obvious if Ball gets hurt again they basically traded away a young healthy player for nothing but if he stays healthy and can contribute 20 solid minutes per game in the playoffs this could be a nice depth piece that puts them over the top in the East for the Bulls Aoro just represents another reclamation project in their youth movement coming off of his worst statistical season the pressure will be on Aoro to prove that he can contribute offensively beyond corner three-pointers it’s pretty much the same exact thing that they did with the Josh Giddy trade trade for a player that was once a very high draft pick that was being underutilized and didn’t fit with his existing team and try to double down on his development and at the end of the day I don’t think one team got the edge over the other in this trade it makes sense why both of these teams made this trade but let me know in the comments section down below if you’re a Bulls fan and a Cavs fan how do you feel about this trade do you think the Chicago Bulls should have gotten a little bit more for Lonzo do you think the Cleveland Cavaliers are silly for taking a risk on Lonzo Ball i’d like to hear what you have to say aside from that I’m your boy Mike and I’m dropping our mic until our next upload [Music]

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