Lonzo Ball offers blunt assessment of Cavs’ trade deadline

The Cavaliers reached the Eastern Conference finals for the first time since 2018. That doesn’t mean everyone believes they made the right moves along the way.

Former Cavs guard Lonzo Ball suggested that Cleveland may have been better off standing pat at the trade deadline instead of reshaping the roster with a series of blockbuster deals.

Speaking on the Ball in the Family podcast, Ball said he believes the Cavaliers could have advanced even further had they kept him and Darius Garland.

“If you were trying to win a championship, I don’t think that was the path that you should’ve took,” Ball said. “If you ask me, I think we would’ve went further. But that’s just me. I’m always going to bet on myself.”

Ball added that identity became an issue after the roster changes.

“To me, it’s gonna be hard to win when you don’t have no identity,” he said.

Cleveland made its biggest move on Feb. 3, sending Garland to the Clippers in exchange for James Harden. A day later, Ball was dealt to the Jazz as part of a three-team trade.

The moves helped spark a postseason run that ended with a trip to the conference finals. But the Cavaliers were ultimately swept by the Knicks, leading to questions about whether additional changes could be coming this summer.

Harden played a major role in helping stabilize Cleveland after arriving from Los Angeles. However, he struggled during the conference finals, averaging 16.0 points while shooting 38.9 percent from the field and just 17.9 percent from beyond the arc.

Ball, meanwhile, never found a consistent role before being traded, averaging 4.6 points in 20.8 minutes per game.

Whether he’s right or wrong, Ball clearly believes the Cavaliers gave up on a group that could have gone further.

The Cavs, of course, may point to the conference finals appearance and argue otherwise.