The Cleveland Cavaliers didn’t make a “serious effort” to sign guard Ty Jerome in free agency, according to Cleveland.com’s Terry Pluto.
Instead, Jerome signed with the Memphis Grizzlies in free agency after having a career season with the Cavs in the 2024-25 campaign.
“With that in mind, the Cavs didn’t make a serious effort to sign Ty Jerome,” Pluto wrote. “The guard who had a surprising 2024-25 season signed a three-year, $28 million contract with Memphis. That is less than projected, some ‘experts’ believing Jerome’s deal would be closer to $45 million for three years.
“But they did sign Sam Merrill to a four-year, $38 million deal. That’s basically the same yearly salary as Jerome will receive from Memphis.”
The Cavs did make a move to improve their guard depth before Jerome left in free agency, as they agreed to trade forward Isaac Okoro to the Chicago Bulls in exchange for former No. 2 overall pick Lonzo Ball.
A veteran guard, Ball should be able to help make up for some of what the Cavs lost with Jerome exiting in free agency.
According to Pluto, a source close to the Cavs believes that the deal to keep Merrill will “age well.” It seems like keeping the sharpshooter was a slightly bigger priority than bringing back Jerome.
“Here’s what I heard from a source very close to the Cavs,” Pluto wrote.
“‘With Sam, the Cavs had real competition on a $10 million per year and up deal. He really wanted to stay, but there was real money out there for him. He’s a movement shooter who can defend and has real value in the marketplace. His deal will age well. The mid-level exception will grow to past $16 million during the length of the deal. So the $9.5 million per year will always be well below that.’”
In 71 games in the 2024-25 season, Merrill averaged 7.2 points, 2.2 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game while shooting 40.6 percent from the field and 37.2 percent from beyond the arc. He attempted 6.0 shots per game and 5.2 of them came from 3-point range.
Ball is a bigger player than Jerome that fits well next to Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell, and he’s known for being a strong defender for his position. While Jerome scored the ball at a high rate in the 2024-25 season, he struggled in the playoffs, especially against the Indiana Pacers in the second round.
Time will tell if the Cavs made the right move to keep Merrill and let Jerome walk, but Cavs fans should expect the team to be back in the mix for the top spot in the Eastern Conference once again in the 2025-26 season.