Shams: Lonzo for Okoro

[wolffy]

Its really not a big deal. If Okoro pops, he pops. If he doesn't, you move on. There's probably a higher probability of this guy being decent (because he's closer to his prime and has shown defense and ok 3 point shooting for multiple seasons at the NBA level) than whatever late 1st rookie we select, who in all likelihood would suck. We need to be realistic about how the draft works. Half of each class busts; sometimes even more.

This also seems to me as a way to push Pat and to a lesser extent Noa.

Lots of overreactions.

They took on an extra year of salary and got the worse player for no compensation. Id say the fact this isn't the 1st time AK has been this dumb is in fact an issue.

[Senor Chang]

Okoro is a transition player, and this is a bet that he’ll look better in the #1 transition frequency offense than he did in the 18th (Cavs).

honestly this moved me from "don't like the trade but big picture, who cares" to "there could be a lil something there."

seems like there were some cleveland fans who were annoyed by them trying to force him into becoming a corner-standing 3-and-D guy and thought it was a square peg/round hole situation. think there is some actual upside here based on us asking him to fill a role more suited to his skills

I think AKME are trying to recreate the 2002 & 2003 new jersey nets teams that made back to back finals with giddy being the Jason kidd. Those nets teams had athletes who will run their opponents off the floor every night.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Indomitable]

Its really not a big deal. If Okoro pops, he pops. If he doesn't, you move on. There's probably a higher probability of this guy being decent (because he's closer to his prime and has shown defense and ok 3 point shooting for multiple seasons at the NBA level) than whatever late 1st rookie we select, who in all likelihood would suck. We need to be realistic about how the draft works. Half of each class busts; sometimes even more.

This also seems to me as a way to push Pat and to a lesser extent Noa.

Lots of overreactions.

They took on an extra year of salary and got the worse player for no compensation. Id say the fact this isn't the 1st time AK has been this dumb is in fact an issue.

2 yrs. Lonzo can be cut after the season.

[WindyCityBorn]

Ball had a team option for 2026, Okoro’s deal is guaranteed and cuts into that coveted summer 2026 cap space AKME keep emphasizing. Half measures.

We aren’t going after any big free agents in 2026.

[nomorezorro]

there are so many people confidently saying okoro is a worse player than 2025 lonzo ball and. i dunno man.

again, i don't like okoro as a player and i thought lonzo *looked* surprisingly good when he was on the floor but...the numbers are the numbers. and lonzo ball's numbers this year specifically were shooting 37% from the field and 34% on threes while putting up 8/3/3 in 35 total games

[Chi town]

Okoro is clearly AK’s Nesmith.

Only way this makes sense is if he’s much better playing fast the whole game and we resign Tre.

[boozapalooza]

Read on Twitter

Cowley reports FOUR other teams were interested / in discussions for Lonzo. How was Okoro and no draft capital deemed the best return? There was a market here.

He also says he still would not rule out a Coby trade

[Indomitable]

AK couldn't even get one 2nd round pick for taking on the worst contract (out of the two) in this deal.

What an odd trade over all. I'd rather have Lonzo for the limited amount of games he'll play than Okoro.

Okoro makes less than the MLE...he makes less than some rookies, and he made the same amount as Lonzo Ball while actually being able to contribute on the court.

Although you didnt outright say he has a bad contract, mentioning his contract at all seems irrelevant due to the above factors.

His contract is fine, but I dont think much of him as a player. A decent role player at best.

The Cavs get to take a flier on Lonzo and if it doesn't work out they can opt out in a year. I'd like to think there's value in having flexibility.

Most people would. Just Akme is dumb.

[MrSparkle]

I was hoping Patrick would take an Okoro valued deal. Still mind boggling to me he got way more ($33m vs 90m… wtf).

[drosestruts]

over the last 3 seasons Ball played 777 minutes

Okoro played 4,592


I like Ball more as a player, but Ball is more theoretical at this point and that's hard to deny.

Bulls NEED to re-sign Tre Jones after this. We look awful without a point guard, and Coby and Ayo aren't point guards.

[nomorezorro]

Cowley reports FOUR other teams were interested / in discussions for Lonzo. How was Okoro and no draft capital deemed the best return? There was a market here.

multiple teams can make bad-to-unremarkable trade offers

given the widespread salary crunch around the league, i imagine there was a lot of interest from teams who saw lonzo's contract as a way to ease their long-term financial obligations and *possibly* get a contributor in the process. i don't think teams were beating down our door because they specifically wanted a guy who has played 35 games in 3 seasons

[boozapalooza]

Also another fallout of this, isnt this just an upgraded version of Dalen Terry? What role does Dalen serve on the team now? We picked up his team option for $5.4M next year…I don’t see a path to him getting minutes. Nor do I see anyone looking to trade for him.

[Dan Z]

Okoro is clearly AK’s Nesmith.

Only way this makes sense is if he’s much better playing fast the whole game and we resign Tre.

The difference is that Nesmith's strength coming into the league was shooting. He struggled a bit in Boston, but figured it out.

Shooting had never been Okoro's strength, but he improved and is decent at it now. However, he's not as good at it as Nesmith and I'd be surprised if he ever reaches that level (not that he has to).

[Tetlak]

Also another fallout of this, isnt this just an upgraded version of Dalen Terry? What role does Dalen serve on the team now? We picked up his team option for $5.4M next year…I don’t see a path to him getting minutes. Nor do I see anyone looking to trade for him.

Dalen is more of a connector/slasher on offense.

Okoro is more of a spot up guy who can get an opportunistic cut.

[Dan Z]

Read on Twitter

Cowley reports FOUR other teams were interested / in discussions for Lonzo. How was Okoro and no draft capital deemed the best return? There was a market here.

He also says he still would not rule out a Coby trade

It's because AK doesn't value draft picks.

[Almost Retired]

Sometimes a player needs to move into a different situation to flourish. I don't think this is a bad move. We kept Lonzo on a pretty nice deal and he got paid all through his injury saga. But that knee is not going to be healthy in the long run. That's unfortunate because in that half season we had a healthy Lonzo he was fun to watch. Now if we can just move Pat, for his sake as well as ours, then we have a guy that can defend wings. I think our front court defense is going to get better with Matas and Noa. We had to improve our defense 1-3.

[Bulliever2020]

I definitely think Okoro will help us more than Lonzo would this year for the pure fact he will most likely be healthier. My problem with this is it pushes other players who either need playing time or need to be let go, further down the rotation which will in turn lower their value. I think the fundamental difference between how people are looking at the trade is in terms of Okoro's upside. Others may see something there, I don't. Decent 3+d player that you can pick up pretty much anywhere at any time. This just pushes us more solidly into the treadmill imo. This is a push for the playin move if I've ever seen one.

[riselife]

Well now the Bulls need to trade Vuch & Pat and just tank one more year for AJ Dybantsa or Peterson, I'm guessing that's the plan they have

[riselife]

Btw Okoro is still a young player, he had a few good games last year and a decent defender. He can be a nice bench player

[Tetlak]

over the last 3 seasons Ball played 777 minutes

Okoro played 4,592


I like Ball more as a player, but Ball is more theoretical at this point and that's hard to deny.

Bulls NEED to re-sign Tre Jones after this. We look awful without a point guard, and Coby and Ayo aren't point guards.

Totally agree, but also kind of expecting them to try this weird jumbo thing