Why Cavs-Bulls Trade Of Isaac Okoro And Lonzo Ball Required A Special Exception

When the Chicago Bulls acquired Isaac Okoro from the Cleveland Cavaliers in exchange for Lonzo Ball earlier this month, they couldn’t simply use Ball’s $10 million salary for matching purposes, as noted by Keith Smith of Spotrac.

Instead, Chicago had to tap into the $17 million+ trade exception it previously generated in the Zach LaVine deal to absorb Okoro’s $11 million salary. That workaround was necessary due to an injury protection clause in Ball’s contract.

Ball’s $10 million for the 2025-26 season is technically non-guaranteed, but it would become fully guaranteed if he were waived today. However, the contract includes an Exhibit 3 clause (a prior injury exclusion) which would allow a team to void the guarantee if Ball re-injures the same knee that has kept him off the court since 2022.

Because of that clause, the league treated Ball’s contract as non-guaranteed for outgoing salary purposes, meaning it couldn’t be used to match salaries under standard trade rules.

That left the Bulls needing another method to take on Okoro, and they turned to a previously created exception instead.

The result? Chicago is now hard-capped at the first tax apron for 2025-26, which would’ve happened either way, given the options available to complete the deal.

Nonetheless, Bulls general manager Marc Eversley suggested the Okoro deal was made with the likes of the Eastern Conference champion Indiana Pacers in mind.

“What I take away from Indiana is their style of play,” Eversley said, referring to the Pacers’ run to the NBA Finals. “They continue to come at you. They play fast.

“They’ve got a bunch of players that can play on both sides of the floor. That’s what we want to build here — versatile players who can defend, run, and make shots.”