I didn’t save much money and I got someone who didn’t play basketball. Is the Cavaliers’ operation so inexplicably?

According to the authoritative ESPN reporter Shams Charania, the Cleveland Cavaliers reached a deal with the Chicago Bulls. The Cavaliers sent Isaac Okoro to the Chicago Bulls and obtained Lonzo Ball from the Bulls. Shams also said the Cavaliers completed the deal because they were ready to lose substitute point guard Ty Jerome after the free market opened. The biggest problem with the Cavaliers at present is that the team's salary space is almost overflowing. The team will have three players with maximum salary contracts next season, two players will earn more than $20 million, and one player will earn more than $15 million. The team's total salary is about $220 million, which is far beyond the second rich line. In other words, if the team does not clean up the roster, then their operations in both free markets and trading markets will become very difficult. Apart from the huge luxury tax, it is difficult for the team to fine-tune the roster in the middle of the season. In other words, huge wages will also greatly affect the team's competitiveness in next season.

Bauer's current contract expires in the summer of 2027, and his salary for next season is $10 million, and his salary for the 2026-27 season is also $10 million, but it is a team option. Okoro's current contract expires in the summer of 2027, with his salary of $11 million next season and $11.81 million for the 2026-27 season. In other words, after completing this transaction, the Cavaliers only saved $1 million in their accounts, which would not improve the team's current salary situation. The only good news is that Ball's contract is more operational, and if his performance is not ideal next season or his attendance rate is still poor, the Cavaliers can lose his burden next summer. It is obvious that the Cavaliers cannot keep Jerome. Jerome has the opportunity to get a full middle class or even higher contract this summer, and the Cavaliers only have his early bird rights and cannot provide him with a competitive offer. The Cavaliers hope to resolve the crisis of the substitute point guard as soon as possible, which is understandable, but in exchange for a player who is reimbursed every time, has only played 70 games in the past four years and has only more than 4 million less than the full middle class exception. This is a completely inexplicable behavior. With Ball's physical condition, it is completely unrealistic to expect him to maintain his attendance and win the game in the playoffs. Is it completely unrealistic to expect him to replace Jerome, who has played 70 times in the regular season this season? The Knight seems to be thinking too much, right? The Cavaliers are not the Boston Celtics this season. The Celtics can't afford Kristaps Porzingis, but the Cavaliers believe they can afford Ball who is much crisper than Porzingis?