The Bulls are trading point guard Lonzo Ball to the Cavaliers in exchange for forward Isaac Okoro, ESPN reported Saturday.

It’s the first trade of the summer for the Bulls, who are attempting to reshape the roster extensively ahead of a transitional season. The move comes two days before free agency is set to open Monday. Trades and signings can’t become official until July 6.

The No. 5 pick in the 2020 draft, Okoro spent his first five seasons in Cleveland as part of a young core that elevated the Cavaliers to the top of the Eastern Conference this past season. He was an off-and-on starter throughout his tenure there and averaged 6.1 points, 2.4 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 2024-25 while mainly coming off the bench. He missed 22 games in the middle of the season because of a shoulder injury.

Acquiring Okoro, 24, accomplishes a main focus for the Bulls: prioritizing young players with four to five years of experience for a longer-term rebuild. But it’s unclear when that approach will pay off.

Straight-up player-for-player trades aren’t commonplace in the NBA, yet this is the second summer in a row Bulls executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnišovas has executed a trade for a player without gaining any draft capital. He sent Alex Caruso to the Oklahoma City Thunder last year for Josh Giddey.

Acquiring the 6-foot-5 Okoro doesn’t address the frontcourt concerns for the Bulls, who have yet to establish a succession plan at center after drafting forwards Noa Essengue and Lachlan Olbrich this week. And Okoro is entering the second season of a three-year, $33 million contract, which means he will claim more cap space and a lengthier tenure — antithetical to the front office’s stated goal of creating financial flexibility for 2026.

This trade at least will give the Bulls a different option at small forward, where Okoro can make an impact on the defensive end. And it gave the Bulls some return for Ball after re-signing him to a team-friendly two-year deal at this year’s trade deadline.

The trade also closes a four-year partnership between the Bulls and Ball that was mostly spent getting him back onto the court.

The Bulls acquired him in August 2021 in a trade with the New Orleans Pelicans, and Ball initially dazzled in Chicago, slinging end-to-end passes and moving with the ball like it was attached to a string in the palm of his hand.

Ball was the key that unlocked a Bulls team that briefly climbed to the top of the Eastern Conference standings in 2021-22. In his first 35 games in Chicago, he averaged 13 points, five assists and 1.8 steals and shot 42.3% from 3-point range.

But everything changed on Jan. 14, 2022, when Ball suffered what appeared to be a routine knee injury. The Bulls shut him down for a few weeks. Then a few more. Then the rest of the season. Ball underwent surgery after surgery as the Bulls medical team tried and failed to find the source of oppressive pain that made it difficult for Ball to walk up stairs or play with his daughter.

In March 2023, Ball made one last risky attempt to return to the court — a cartilage transplant that included a meniscus transplant.