CLEVELAND (AP) — The Cleveland Cavaliers have agreed to acquire guard Lonzo Ball from the Chicago Bulls for forward Isaac Okoro according to a person with knowledge of the agreement.
The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Saturday because the trade can not be finalized until the start of the new league year on July 6.
Ball averaged 7.6 points, 3.4 rebounds and 3.3 assists in 35 games this past season after missing the 2022-23 and 2023-24 campaigns because of a left knee injury. The 27-year old Ball underwent a meniscus and cartilage transplant in his left knee in March 2023 after two surgeries failed to fix an injury he suffered during his first season in Chicago in 2021-22.
Ball, the second overall pick by the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2017 draft, missed the last two months of the season because of a sprained right wrist. He has one year remaining on his contract with a team option for the 2026-27 season.
Cleveland has a need at point guard with Ty Jerome becoming an unrestricted free agent and Darius Garland likely to miss the start of the regular season after undergoing surgery on his left big toe earlier this month.
The Cavaliers had the second-best record in the NBA at 64-18 but were eliminated in the Eastern Conference semifinals by the Indiana Pacers in five games.
Okoro averaged 6.1 points and 2.4 rebounds this past season and is a strong defender who can also shoot well from the perimeter. However, he found his playing time begin to decrease over the season. He averaged 14.2 minutes in the playoffs after logging 19.1 minutes per game in the regular season.
Okoro has two years remaining on his contract.
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FILE - Chicago Bulls' Lonzo Ball (2) drives against Cleveland Cavaliers' Isaac Okoro (35) in the first half of an NBA basketball game, Dec. 8, 2021, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak, File)
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is meeting with oil executives at the White House on Friday in hopes of securing $100 billion in investments to revive Venezuela’s ability to fully tap into its expansive reserves of petroleum — a plan that rides on their comfort in making commitments in a country plagued by instability, inflation and uncertainty.
Since the U.S. military raid to capture former Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro on Saturday, Trump has quickly pivoted to portraying the move as a newfound economic opportunity for the U.S., seizing three tankers carrying Venezuelan oil, saying the U.S. is taking over the sales of 30 million to 50 million barrels of previously sanctioned Venezuelan oil and will be controlling sales worldwide indefinitely.
It's also part of a broader push by Trump to keep gasoline prices low. At a time when many Americans are concerned about affordability, the incursion in Venezuela melds Trump’s assertive use of presidential powers with an optical spectacle meant to convince Americans that he can bring down energy prices.
The meeting, set for 2:30 p.m. EST, is currently set to occur behind closed doors, according to the president's daily schedule. “At least 100 Billion Dollars will be invested by BIG OIL, all of whom I will be meeting with today at The White House,” Trump said Friday in a pre-dawn social media post.
Trump is set to meet with executives from 17 oil companies, according to the White House. Among the companies attending are Chevron, which still operates in Venezuela, and ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips, which both had oil projects in the country that were lost as part of a 2007 nationalization of private businesses under Maduro’s predecessor, Hugo Chávez.
The president is meeting with a wide swath of domestic and international companies with interests ranging from construction to the commodity markets. Other companies slated to be at the meeting include Halliburton, Valero, Marathon, Shell, Singapore-based Trafigura, Italy-based Eni and Spain-based Repsol.
Large U.S. oil companies have so far largely refrained from affirming investments in Venezuela as contracts and guarantees need to be in place. Trump has suggested on social media that America would help to backstop any investments.
Venezuela’s oil production has slumped below one million barrels a day. Part of Trump's challenge to turn that around will be to convince oil companies that his administration has a stable relationship with Venezuela’s interim President Delcy Rodríguez, as well as protections for companies entering the market.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum are slated to attend the oil executives meeting, according to the White House.
President Donald Trump waves as he walks off stage after speaking to House Republican lawmakers during their annual policy retreat, Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
