The die was cast last weekend, but on the first day of free agency, the Cleveland Cavaliers officially lost Ty Jerome as Jerome signed with the Memphis Grizzlies.
Jerome agreed to a three-year contract worth twenty-eight million dollars with Memphis, and the door was opened after the Cavaliers acquired Lonzo Ball and re-signed Sam Merrill.
Jerome had his best season in 2024-25 with Cleveland, posting career-highs in games played and almost every offensive category.
Jerome played twenty minutes a game, averaging twelve points, three assists, and shot fifty-one percent from the floor, forty-three percent from three-point distance.
However, Jerome's defensive weaknesses were targeted in the Cavaliers' playoff defeat to the Indiana Pacers as Tyrese Halliburton torched him consistently. Cleveland realized that Jerome's limitations weren't going to improve.
I understand with the Cavaliers' cap situation, Jerome wasn't likely to return after his postseason play, so the trade for Lonzo Ball made sense to me.
I wasn't surprised that the Cavaliers re-signed Sam Merrill at the time, but I am mildly puzzled that Merrill (four years, thirty-eight million) was valued higher than Jerome, receiving an extra year (four to three) and almost the same compensation per year.
I like Merrill, and he has value as a shooter off the bench, but Jerome is a bit more versatile.
I wouldn't have had an issue keeping either player over the other, but it does feel as if Cleveland overpaid a bit for Merrill while Memphis may have bought a mild bargain in Jerome's contract.
Two days after the conclusion of the NBA draft, the Cleveland Cavaliers made a one-for-one swap that may have given a possible hint towards the remainder of the team's offseason.
The Cavaliers acquired the talented but injury-plagued point guard Lonzo Ball from the division rival Chicago Bulls for former first-round pick Isaac Okoro in what may show the team's concern for the long-term status of the injured Darius Garland and the retention of free agent Ty Jerome.
Ball, one of the three Ball brothers, was the second overall pick by the Los Angeles Lakers and seemed to be on the verge of being a very good player before missing two seasons with knee problems.
Ball returned to the Bulls last season, playing in thirty-five games, averaging seven points and three assists in twenty-two minutes per game.
The addition of Ball to the roster could allow the Cavaliers to save money and allow Ty Jerome to sign elsewhere rather than re-sign him at a healthy salary increase.
The Cavaliers were trying to get out of their second-tier status on the salary cap, and with Jerome and Sam Merrill both eligible for free agency, the Cavaliers had to do something with Isaac Okoro and Dean Wade to have a hope of reaching the goal of reducing their cap and keep Jerome and/or Merrill.
It looks like the decision has been made to allow Jerome to leave, as Sam Merrill signed a four-year contract to stay in Cleveland as their instant offense off the bench, and with their drafting of Tyrese Proctor and trading for Lonzo Ball, Cleveland doesn't seem to have the cap space (if they truly are making an effort to drop from the second tier) or the playing time for Ty Jerome.
Isaac Okoro averaged six points and two rebounds in fifty-five games last season, all career-lows, and he never was able to develop an outside shot that the team hoped he would after drafting him fifth overall from Auburn in 2020.
Okoro was the high-end defensive player that Cleveland hoped he would be, but his lack of shooting skill made him almost unplayable in the postseason, and I didn't see anything from Okoro that could change that.
Okoro makes slightly more than Ball (eleven to ten million) and the Cavaliers clean up some contract clutter as Okoro is signed for two years, while Ball is signed for just one followed by a friendly team option.
If Lonzo Ball is able to return to even close to his previous form, the Cavaliers could have exactly what they needed at a bargain price, which is a veteran point guard to run the offense while Darius Garland is away and allow Garland not to push his rehab too hard to return to the court, and when Garland does return, Ball is a solid option off the bench.
If Ball cannot get past his injuries, then they still moved on from Isaac Okoro, which is something, and the Cavaliers can look for a similar player next off-season.
