The Utah Jazz are expected to waive Lonzo Ball after acquiring the guard in a three-team trade with the Cleveland Cavaliers, meaning Ball is poised to become a free agent,ESPN's Shams Charania reported Wednesday.
In addition to the 28-year-old Ball, the Cavaliers are also sending their 2028 and 2032 second-round picks to the Jazz,according to NBA insider Jake Fischer.
As part of the trade, the Jazz are shipping center Jock Landale off to the Atlanta Hawks for cash considerations, permultiplereports.
The Jazz collect a pair of second-round picks, the Hawks acquire Landale — who had been averaging a career-high 11.3 points and 6.5 rebounds per game for the Memphis Grizzliesbefore the 30-year-old big man was first dealt to Utah in the Jaren Jackson Jr. trade— and the Cavaliers dump salary amid deadline chaos that's already brought themJames Harden,Keon Ellis and Dennis Schröder.
Trading Ball frees Cleveland of his $10 million salary,according to The Athletic.
This past summer,Ball landed with the Cavs, then his fourth team since going No. 2 overall out of UCLA in the 2017 NBA Draft. He had previously played for the Los Angeles Lakers, New Orleans Pelicans and Chicago Bulls, the last of whom traded him to Cleveland for wing Isaac Okoro.
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At the time, Cleveland was looking to reinforce its backcourt followingthe free-agency departure of Ty Jerome. However, Ball hasn't made the impact the Cavaliers imagined.
He's shooting a meager 30.1% from the field this season, including a ghastly 27.2% from deep. His 4.6 points per game are, by far, a career low.
Plus, Ball is averaging just 3.9 assists per game, his second fewest since reaching the league. He played 20.8 minutes per contest in his 35 outings with the Cavs.
In October 2024, Ball returned to the court for his first game in more than 1,000 daysafter missing 2 1/2 seasons because of an array of knee injuries.
Since then, he's yet to score more than 18 points in a game.
