While the Chicago Bulls haven’t made any blockbuster moves this offseason, the front office has shown more progress than in recent years by making a few meaningful additions. They re-signed Tre Jones to a three-year deal, drafted Noa Essengue and Lachlan Olbrich to bolster the frontcourt, extended head coach Billy Donovan, and signed guard Yuki Kawamura to a two-way deal after an impressive Summer League.
However, the move that has flown under the radar comes from their singular trade of the 2025 offseason, which sent Lonzo Ball to the Cleveland Cavaliers in exchange for 24-year-old wing Isaac Okoro. This move could be easy to overlook right now, but this deal could surprise a lot of people once the season tips off in October.
Isaac Okoro's young NBA career
Okoro was the fifth overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, taken just one spot after current Chicago Bull Patrick Williams. He quickly established himself as a defensive menace with raw, yet intriguing offensive potential. As a rookie, he averaged 9.6 points, 3.1 rebounds, 1.9 assists, and 0.9 steals per game while starting in all 67 games he appeared in during the 2020-21 season.
That Cavaliers team finished with a record of just 22-50, but it gave Okoro the chance to step into a rebuilding NBA roster and spread his wings right away. Since then, his role has continued to diminish as Cleveland added more talent, forcing him to play behind players like Donovan Mitchell, Max Strus, and Caris LeVert.
Although his scoring averages have declined due to a lack of opportunity since his rookie season, his efficiency has taken a significant leap. His three-point shooting has jumped from a shaky 29.0 percent as a rookie to 37.1 percent in 2024-25. His two-point percentage has climbed from 50.1 to 58.6 percent, and his effective field goal percentage is up nearly 10 percent, from 47.6 to 56.9. What makes this even more impressive is that it’s happened despite a significant drop in playing time, from 32.4 minutes per game as a rookie to just 19.1 this past season.
These numbers suggest that with an increased role in Chicago, Okoro could be ready to take a significant jump as a scorer while still being able to guard the opponent’s best player every night.
Why this trade is a win for the Bulls
The phrase “the best ability is availability” fits this scenario perfectly. Since Okoro entered the league in 2020, Lonzo Ball has played in just 125 of a possible 400 regular-season games, coming out to 31% of possible games played. Okoro, on the other hand, has appeared in 334 of 400 possible games, coming out to an availability rate of 83.5%.
With this trade, the Bulls gain a player who’s both durable and still developing, capable of giving them consistent minutes and elite perimeter defense off the bench. The only real loss is Ball’s playmaking and shooting abilities. But with Coby White’s emergence and Josh Giddey’s arrival last season, Chicago is more in need of a defensive identity than another score-first creator.
Okoro fits seamlessly into this roster. He won’t be asked to carry an offensive load, but he can thrive as the main defensive stopper off the bench, a secondary cutter, and an energy spark. If you account for his youth and playoff experience, Okoro gives the Bulls the perfect mix of potential and maturity the team has been shifting towards.
How Okoro can impact the Bulls' future
Respectfully, Isaac Okoro isn’t a superstar, and he most likely won’t turn out to be one. But in a season where the Bulls will be fighting for relevance in a wide-open Eastern Conference, this is the kind of move that can give the team a sense of direction and a noticeable impact. A healthy, motivated, and still-improving Okoro could be exactly what this roster has been missing.
If recent NBA success has taught us anything, it’s that it’s not always the biggest offseason moves that change a franchise’s trajectory. Sometimes, it’s the smaller acquisitions that help a team slowly climb the standings. For the Bulls, trading for Isaac Okoro might be the first step toward that goal.