The Cleveland Cavaliers are reportedly trading guard Lonzo Ball to the Utah Jazz as part of a three-team deal that also includes the Atlanta Hawks, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania.
Under the terms of the reported agreement, Cleveland will receive two future second-round draft picks. Utah acquires Ball along with cash considerations, while Atlanta adds center Jock Landale from the Jazz. Utah is expected to waive Ball, which would allow him to become a free agent once he clears waivers. The playoff eligibility waiver deadline is March 1.
Ball, acquired by Cleveland last offseason in a trade with the Chicago Bulls for Isaac Okoro, appeared in a limited role this season. He averaged 4.6 points, four rebounds and 3.9 assists in 20.8 minutes per game. In 2024–25, Ball averaged 7.6 points, 3.4 rebounds and 3.3 assists in 35 games after missing the previous two seasons due to a left knee injury.
The 28-year-old’s injury history has defined much of his recent career. Ball underwent a meniscus and cartilage transplant in his left knee in March 2023 after two prior surgeries failed to resolve an injury suffered during his first season with Chicago in 2021–22. He later missed the final two months of the 2024–25 season with a sprained right wrist.
Selected second overall by the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2017 NBA Draft, Ball has one year remaining on his contract, with a team option for the 2026–27 season.
Landale, meanwhile, is set to move on from Utah just days after being acquired in Tuesday’s Jaren Jackson Jr. trade. In his fifth NBA season, the veteran center is enjoying career-best numbers, averaging 11.3 points, 6.5 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 2025–26 as he heads to Atlanta.
