CLEVELAND, Ohio — The NBA offseason chess match is underway, and Ty Jerome might be the unexpected beneficiary of moves happening across the league.
While much of the discussion has centered on whether the Cavs will retain their valuable sixth man, a fascinating alternative destination has emerged: the Orlando Magic.
In the latest Wine and Gold Talk podcast, cleveland.com’s Chris Fedor dropped a bombshell about Orlando’s suddenly improved position to pursue Jerome following their acquisition of Desmond Bane.
“The Orlando were projected as a first apron team. They are no longer projected as a first apron team,” Fedor explained. “So that means all of a sudden instead of Orlando basically only having the taxpayer mid-level exception, which is about 5.6 million ... they now have access to the full mid-level exception.”
That full mid-level exception — $14.1 million — puts Orlando squarely in the Jerome sweepstakes, alongside approximately 23 other teams with similar financial flexibility. But what makes the Magic particularly intriguing isn’t just the money; it’s the fit.
“Not only did they add Desmond Bane, but now they become more of a player in free agency and they still do need a point guard like Ty Jerome, somebody that can organize the offense, somebody that can get them into their stuff,” Fedor noted.
This potential pairing carries delicious irony.
During a Cavaliers-Magic game last season, Jerome reportedly engaged in some heated trash talk with Orlando star Paolo Banchero, boldly declaring: “I’ll start on y’all team.”
What if those words, delivered in the heat of competition, proved prophetic? What if Jerome actually did end up starting for the Magic?
It’s not as far-fetched as it might seem.
Orlando’s point guard situation remains unsettled, and with the addition of Bane, their offensive identity could be evolving in ways that make Jerome an even better fit.
“Maybe Jalen Suggs is better as a player, more like T.J. McConnell, more like Alex Caruso coming off the bench and having those defensive assignments,” host Ethan Sands noted.
For Jerome, Orlando might represent the perfect storm of opportunity: competitive team, financial parity with Cleveland’s potential offer, and most tantalizingly, a clearer path to the larger role he clearly believes he deserves.
The question becomes whether Jerome values that potential opportunity more than the security and familiarity of remaining in Cleveland, where his relationship with the organization runs deep.
“There is a preexisting relationship between Ty and president of basketball operations Koby Altman that goes back more than a decade,” Fedor pointed out. “And the Cavs have wanted Ty Jerome for years. They wanted him in the draft in 2019, couldn’t get him.”
But as columnist Jimmy Watkins wisely observed: “Ambitious people don’t stop being ambitious when they reach a goal. They just set a new one.”
For a player who once played just two games in an entire season and has fought his way to relevance, the chance to prove his boast in the very city where he made it might be the ultimate vindication.
Will Ty Jerome remain with the Cavaliers, or could he be wearing Magic blue next season?
For the complete breakdown of his market and potential landing spots, listen to the full Wine and Gold Talk podcast for expert analysis on one of this summer’s most fascinating free agency storylines.
Here’s the podcast for this week:
_Note: Artificial intelligence was used to help generate this story from the Cleveland Wine and Gold Talk Podcast by cleveland.com. Visitors to cleveland.com have asked for more text stories based on website podcast discussions._