It's pretty safe to say that the Cleveland Cavaliers' acquisition of Lonzo Ball did not go according to plan. Acquired in a trade with the Chicago Bulls for Isaac Okoro, Ball struggled mightily in his half season with the Cavs. He eventually became a cap casualty, with the Cavs deciding to trade his salary to the Utah Jazz, who waived him and sent him to free agency.
Ball did not produce well in a Cavs uniform; In 35 games, he averaged only 4.6 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.9 assists, while shooting 30.1 percent from the field and 27.2 percent from deep. It got to the point where Ball's father, LaVar, felt like he had to step in and tell the Cavs how to better utilize his son.
"You're already messing him up by not starting him," LaVar said in an appearance on the Ball in the Family podcast. "You saw him come off the bench and run to the corner. He's never played like that in his life and he's going to have to adapt after not playing basketball for so many years. It's not going to work."
"I told them that when I got there and I said, 'If you only want him to play 20 minutes, how about we let him play 24 minutes, but let him play the last two quarters?'"
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJL0PoRANFo[/embed]
LaVar Ball will always support his son despite tough end to Cavs tenure
What doesn't make sense in LaVar's plan to utilize Lonzo is that the Cavs were very wary of overloading his body. Ball has been well aware of the knee problems that have cost him years of his career, so it doesn't make sense for Cleveland to give him such a heavy workload.
As of now, Ball remains a free agent, and there is not much buzz surrounding his name. It doesn't seem likely he'll be lining up with a team before the 2025-26 season ends, which is testament to how his stock has fallen during his time with the Cavs.
