The Cleveland Cavaliers' trade of Lonzo Ball to the Utah Jazz was a widely expected move around the NBA.
The Cavs gave up Ball and two second-round picks to the Jazz for... nothing, according to ESPN's Shams Charania. The report adds that Utah is going to waive Ball, making him a free agent.
It's that nothing in return that's actually so important to Cleveland.
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Why did the Cavs trade Lonzo Ball?
Prior to the Ball trade, the Cavs were about $13 million over the second apron line of the salary cap. That's the highest portion of cap space a team can be, and it comes with prohibitive restrictions, including not being able to aggregate salaries in trades.
Ball clears about $10 million, leaving Cleveland just a small move with a bottom-of-the-roster player to get under the second apron line.
You can almost guarantee the Cavaliers will make that happen before Thursday's trade deadline.
Ball had proven not useful for Cleveland as his shooting numbers tanked to historically bad territory, so it's not a loss in that way.
Instead, it could set the Cavs up for a bigger move.
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They'd have no way of even considering a trade for a huge-salary player like Giannis Antetokounmpo without being under the second apron, because they'd have no way to match his salary.
There are also future draft pick penalties associated with the second apron, so even if the Cavs don't get a new superstar, it's smart to get under the line.
Expect at least one Cavaliers trade after the Ball maneuver, and there's always the chance this could mean something much larger.
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