The Chicago Bulls trading Lonzo Ball wasn't shocking, considering the glut of guards they have on their roster. Chicago trading him to the Cleveland Cavaliers in exchange for Isaac Okoro straight up is where the deal becomes a bit of a head-scratcher. Somehow, the deal looks even worse once what the Bulls could've gotten for Ball at the deadline came to light.
Btw, the bulls were offered a first round pick for Lonzo at the deadline. All they had to do was take on Marcus Smart.
— KENNY BEECHAM (@KOT4Q) June 28, 2025
Had the Bulls done the sensible thing and traded Ball at last season's trade deadline rather than hand him an extension, they reportedly could've gotten a first-round pick had they taken on the remainder of Marcus Smart's contract. What the first-round pick was is unclear, but this feels like a very clear miss.
Passing on a first-round pick and settling on Okoro is really hard to justify.
Isaac Okoro is not a good fit with the Bulls
The most pressing question I have about this deal is, where exactly does Okoro fit? Okoro is a fine 3-and-D wing, but do the Bulls not already have plenty of those? Matas Buzelis, Coby White, Ayo Dosunmu, Kevin Huerter, Dalen Terry and Patrick Williams all figure to play a role on the 2025-26 Bulls, and this doesn't even factor in 2025 first-round pick Noa Essengue, who Chicago should hope to develop.
The Bulls might find minutes for Okoro to come off their bench for 15-ish minutes a game, but that'd come at the expense of someone else, and is playing Okoro marginally really more valuable than a first-round pick?
Okoro is fine, but it's just hard to envision him playing a key role in the future for Chicago. Knowing that the Bulls could've gotten a piece to actually help them in the future but instead settled on Okoro is a frustrating pill to swallow.
Bulls continue to make same mistake with trades
At the end of the day, it truly feels as if the Bulls continue to make the same mistake when it comes to trades. They have a player they like, hope to win with said player, realize they're not close to contending, and wait far too long before shipping said player away for an underwhelming return. The Bulls made this mistake with Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan, Alex Caruso, and now Ball.
Smart's contract is far from ideal, but it's expiring after this upcoming season, and the Bulls aren't close to being true contenders. All they had to do to get a piece to help them win in the future was take on one year of a player who, at worst, is still a fantastic leader. Instead, the Bulls waited too long and settled on getting nothing more than a decent rotation player who is not an ideal fit on this team.
Perhaps Okoro will shock us all and prove to be more valuable than a first-round pick would've been for this Bulls team that has yet to go all-in on rebuilding. Bulls fans will have to see that to believe it, though.