Evaluating the Start to Free Agency for the Cleveland Cavaliers

The Cavaliers, if nothing else, are different than they were last week.

Photo by Jason Leung on Unsplash

On Saturday morning the Cleveland Cavaliers and Chicago Bulls agreed on a trade sending Isaac Okoro to the Windy City in exchange for Lonzo Ball. Hours later news broke that the team would be re-signing guard Sam Merrill to a new four-year contract worth $38 million.

These two moves, plus the drafting of Tyrese Proctor with the No. 49 overall pick in last week’s NBA Draft very likely signal the end of Ty Jerome’s time in Cleveland.

On the surface, the move of Okoro for Ball looks like a big upgrade — albeit not without risk — for the Cavs. They receive the player with more upside in the deal that happens to be on a more manageable contract and didn’t have to include any draft compensation in the deal. The bet the Cavs are making in that deal is on Ball’s health.

In that swap, the Cavs got better. However, that deal does look a little bit differently in a vacuum than when looking at the full scope of things.

It can more accurately be looked at as the Cavs acquired Ball, Merrill and Proctor in exchange for Okoro and Jerome. It’s not the perfect way to look at things because Merrill isn’t a new addition, rather a retainment. All things weren’t equal, obviously, but it would’ve been difficult to envision the Cavs keeping both Jerome and Merrill this summer in free agency.

Are the Cavs better now than they were at dawn on Saturday? Maybe. Are the Cavs worse than they were at dawn on Saturday. Maybe.

Are the Cavs different now than they were at dawn on Saturday? Definitely.

This evaluation becomes tricky because it’s never fair to expect much from a late-second round draft pick, even if Proctor is tremendous value for that position in the draft. As mentioned here and everywhere else in the world, the risk in the trade the Cavs made is on Ball’s health. He’s played just 70 games in the past four years due to several knee surgeries and a wrist injury.

There are a few things the Cavs did to make themselves different with this series of moves.