Ty Jerome signs with Memphis

    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.

Send it in Jerome! Cleveland wins Game One

 The Cleveland Cavaliers backcourt took over the game from the Miami Heat as the Cavaliers grabbed a 121-100 win in game one of the Eastern Conference Quarter-Finals in Cleveland.

Donovan Mitchell scored thirty points to lead Cleveland's scoring and was aided by backcourt mate Darius Garland's twenty-seven and twenty-eight points from Ty Jerome off the bench.

Game two will take place on Wednesday.

Swashbucklings

1) The story was the sizzling shooting of Ty Jerome, who might have the best story of a team filled with them this season.

Jerome hit ten of fifteen shots, five of ten in three-pointers, grabbed five rebounds, and had three assists.

It's not bad for a guy who was signed almost as an afterthought in the off-season.

2) Donovan Mitchell's thirty points were the seventh consecutive game one which he finished with thirty or more points.

It seems like one of those stats someone dug up and wasn't thought of often, but it shows that Mitchell has gotten off to a good start in his playoff appearances.

3) The Cavaliers throughout the game led consistently from eight to twelve points, but Miami didn't allow that big run to stretch the lead out of control until the fourth quarter.

Miami made the playoffs when they became the first tenth seed to win two road games in the NBA's play-in tournament, and it's fair to consider how much wear they had on their legs after three games in five days.

4) Ty Jerome was the key in the fourth quarter when Cleveland locked up the win, scoring ten consecutive points during a 13-4 run.

5) Cleveland will need more offense from their big men in future games, as Jarrett Allen (12 pts) and Evan Mobley (9 pts) shot the ball only eighteen times between them.

Allen and Mobley must be more active on the offensive for the Cavaliers to thrive as the opponents become more varied and higher quality.

Cavaliers sign Ty Jerome

  The Cleveland Cavaliers aren't finished with their attempt to improve the players around their core after adding Georges Niang and Max Strus as they signed guard Ty Jerome away from the Golden State Warriors to back up Darius Garland at the point.

The two-year agreement is valued at five million for Jerome, best remembered for leading Virginia to the 2019 NCAA championship.

Last season was Jerome's first with the Warriors after spending the previous two seasons with the Oklahoma City Thunder, playing in forty-five games for Golden State.

Jerome averaged just under seven points a game and three assists in eighteen minutes a game.

Jerome shoots the ball well, shooting 48.8 percent from the floor and 38.9 from three-point range last season

Jerome turns twenty-six next week so he should be the fifth guard for Cleveland in a similar role that was played last season by Raul Neto and the one that he played with Golden State, which had him playing between fifteen and twenty minutes a game depending on the roster situation at the time.

I like Jerome, a player that has proven to be effective if used in limited doses, and think he can help the Cavaliers in those situations but I do wonder if they may have overpaid a bit.

I would have thought a player similar to Jerome could have been signed to a one-year contract rather than two, and two and a half million also could have been a bit high but Cleveland clearly liked Jerome and thought the value was locking him up for two seasons.

Cleveland likely has completed their free-agent shopping for their bigger ticket items but I wouldn't be surprised to see them sign a lower-priced backup big man and/or a wing player that can- wait for it, shoot well from the outside.

Back later with the boxing weekend.