Cavaliers make signings official

The Cavaliers made the official announcement on acquiring point guard Lonzo Ball on Sunday. It was the first day transactions became official in the NBA. Cleveland sent swingman Isaac Okoro to the Chicago Bulls in the one-for-one deal. "We are very excited about this opportunity to acquire someone with the skillset and versatility that Lonzo Ball brings to this team," Cavs president of basketball operations Koby Altman said in a statement. "We have built a team for sustainable success and finding a way to improve around the edges has been our focus this offseason and the addition of Lonzo represents part of that process." The Cavs also re-signed shooting guard Sam Merrill to a four-year, $38 million deal and signed forward/center Larry Nance Jr. to a one-year, $3 million contract. The 6-foot-6, 205-pound Ball averaged 7.6 points, 3.4 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.3 steals in 35 games for the Bulls last season. He was originally the No. 2 overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft by the Los Angeles Lakers. He's averaged 11.4 points, 5.5 rebounds, 5.8 assists and 1.5 steals in 287 career games with the Lakers, New Orleans and Chicago. Ball is expected to be Cleveland's backup point guard behind starter Darius Garland. Okoro, the No. 5 overall pick in 2020, spent five seasons with the Cavs and averaged 8.1 points and 2.8 rebounds. "I would also like to thank Isaac Okoro for his professionalism, hard work and the true grit he brought to the court during his five seasons in Cleveland," Altman said. Ball will wear jersey No. 2 for the Cavs. The 6-4, 205-pound Merrill appeared in a career-high 71 games for Cleveland last season and averaged 7.2 points, 2.2 rebounds and 1.5 assists. He shot .372 from the 3-point line and he was third on the team with 137 3-pointers. The 6-8, 242-pound Nance, who signed for the veteran's minimum, returns to the Cavs where he spent parts of four seasons (2018-21) and appeared in 182 regular-season games. He averaged 9.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.35 steals for Cleveland. He helped the Cavs reach the 2018 NBA Finals. Nance has played in the NBA for 10 years for Atlanta, the Lakers, Portland and New Orleans. He's appeared in 30 career playoff games with Cleveland and New Orleans. Nance was the 27th overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft by the Lakers. His father, Larry Nance Sr., was a member of the Cavs from 1988-94 and his brother, Pete, played for Cleveland during the 2023-24 season. The Nances are one of only two family trios in NBA history to play for the same franchise; the other is the Barry family, who accomplished the feat with both Houston (Rick, Brent, and Jon Barry) and Golden State (Rick, Jon, and Drew Barry). Nance Jr. will wear jersey No. 22 for the Cavs, the same number retired by the franchise in honor of his father's career in Cleveland. Bob Finnan can be reached at rfinnan30@gmail.com. Follow him @BobCavsinsider on X.