It’s a tale Jazz fans have heard before: Once again, their team has traded for a famous point guard for contractual reasons, with plans to waive him later.
This time, the player in question is Cleveland’s Lonzo Ball. On Wednesday, the Jazz traded newly acquired center Jock Landale to the Atlanta Hawks, and picked up Ball from the Cavaliers in a three-team deal that also saw two second-round picks traded to Utah.
The Jazz plan to waive Ball in the days to come. So from a Jazz perspective, the deal means giving the Hawks a 30-year-old center on an expiring contract and receiving two second-round picks. In consummating the trade, the Jazz used most of the trade exception they got for trading John Collins this summer to acquire Ball’s $10 millon salary.
Ball, once the second pick in the draft, has seen his career derailed by injuries. He has really struggled in Cleveland so far, scoring just 4.6 points per game and shooting just 30% from the field overall. Moving his salary to Utah’s books allows the Cavs to save money.
Meanwhile, Landale figures to be a very useful depth piece for a team facing the absences of centers Kristaps Porzingis and Onyeka Okongwu. Even Duop Reath, the center the Hawks acquired this week, is out with a foot injury.
Utah, meanwhile, recouped some draft assets — in particular, the Jazz acquired Cleveland’s 2028 and 2032 second-round picks in the Ball deal. ESPN was first to report the trade, while Jake Fischer first reported the pick details. Wednesday’s trade has echoes of previous Jazz trades for Russell Westbrook and Derrick Rose.
The Jazz acquired Landale in the eight-player trade Tuesday that was headlined by Jaren Jackson Jr.
One more minor deal was completed on Wednesday: the Jazz traded the draft rights to Serbian center Balsa Koprivica to the Oklahoma City Thunder in exchange for cash considerations. The Jazz acquired the 25-year-old’s draft rights in the Kris Dunn trade in the summer of 2024; Koprivica is currently a bench player on Turkish team Bahcesehir Koleji.
