The Cleveland Cavaliers recently swapped Isaac Okoro for Lonzo Ball, putting together a deal with the Chicago Bulls that might help both teams.
The trade happened weeks ago, but now the specifics of it are coming to light.
Keith Smith has been writing about the deal and, after some confusion, clarified on X that the Cavaliers earned a $1 million traded player exception in the Okoro-Ball trade.
$1 million isn’t a lot of money, but every penny counts in the modern NBA.
Correction on this:
CLE has a $1M TPE for Okoro, not a $11M TPE.
The CHI side is all still valid. https://t.co/ZPNVmfbLKX
— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) July 18, 2025
A traded player exception is created when a team trades for a player with more salary for one with less or no salary at all.
The Cavaliers shipped Okoro to the Bulls.
At the time, Okoro was making $11 million, and Ball made $10 million, meaning the Cavaliers now have $1 million extra on their books.
What can they do with that?
Frankly, nothing because they would need to find a player who is making that or less than that, and that’s basically impossible to do.
Still, earning more money is always good, especially since the league is so competitive and there are many players moving around right now.
The Okoro-Ball trade was surprising to some because certain Cavaliers fans didn’t expect their team to do anything in the offseason.
And while Ball could bring a lot of great talent to the team, there are concerns that he won’t be 100 percent healthy and could end up holding them back.
But if he is feeling, looking, and moving well, he could provide the Cavs a huge boost in the backcourt.
Some people forget that he used to be one of the most exciting young guards in the league.
NEXT: 1 Cavs Player Could Be The Missing Piece Next Season
