Lonzo Ball traded to Jazz as Cavaliers continue to clear salary: Sources

The Cleveland Cavaliers are trading guard Lonzo Ball to the Utah Jazz in a move that clears his $10 million salary off Cleveland’s books, league sources told The Athletic.

The Jazz are expected to waive Ball after the trade, which would make him a free agent, a league source told The Athletic.

Utah will receive the Cavaliers’ second-round picks in 2028 and 2032, league sources said, and the Jazz will also send center Jock Landale to the Atlanta Hawks for cash considerations. Landale, 30, was acquired from the Memphis Grizzlies as part of Tuesday’s Jaren Jackson Jr. trade.

The Cavaliers acquired Ball, 28, over the summer for wing Isaac Okoro in an attempt to shore up a backcourt that lost Ty Jerome in free agency. The move didn’t work out. Ball’s shooting has completely fallen off a cliff in Cleveland; he’s making just 30.1 percent of his shots and 27.2 percent of his 3s while averaging a career-low 4.6 points across 35 games.

Trading Ball while taking nothing back saves Cleveland an immense amount of money. The Cavaliers began the week well above the second apron but have come to within about $4 million of that threshold after trades for James Harden, Keon Ellis and Dennis Schröder.