CHICAGO — Ty Jerome isn’t walking through that door.
The mercurial Cavs, who have lost six of the last nine games and are currently outside a locked-in playoff position in the Eastern Conference, need to shake things up.
They’ve tried a few things already.
An uncomfortable film session. Player-led meetings. Stylistic tweaks. Unfiltered postgame commentary. Voluntary shootarounds.
None of it has yielded the desired result.
Just past the quarter point of the season, Cleveland is still not where it wants to be — and no one is happy about that. Still, it’s far too early to consider drastic roster-related changes. Plus, given the team’s bloated salary cap situation — the only team in the penal second apron — any trade would be extremely tricky.
So, it’s about finding internal solutions. Exhaust those first and go from there.
A logical one is staring directly at Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson. It’s time to take swingman De’Andre Hunter out of the starting lineup.
With Jerome — a finalist for NBA Sixth Man of the Year in 2024-25 — departing to Memphis this past summer, Cleveland’s rebuilt bench has not been able to provide a reliable nightly spark.
Statistically, the Cavs have the league’s second least productive second unit, averaging just 28.1 points on 39.4% from the field and 29.2% from 3-point range. There are just six instances in 27 games where Cleveland has had at least two reserves score at least 10 points. Twelve times it has failed to get any member of the bench in double-digits.
Context is required.
Thanks to a never-ending injury report, lineups and rotations have fluctuated. Missing starters have pushed a few guys up the depth chart.
Sharpshooter Sam Merrill — expected to eventually be a linchpin of the second unit — has bounced between starter, reserve and inactive.
Lonzo Ball, one of the team’s offseason pickups and the second unit conductor, has yet to find his footing in Cleveland. He is also shooting a wretched 29.1% from the field and 26% from 3-point range.
Veteran Larry Nance Jr., another summer pickup, was struggling mightily before suffering a calf strain that will sideline him for a few more weeks.
When full strength — or close to it — the Cavs have plenty of playable depth. Perhaps more than ever. This early-season funk has created a bigger opportunity for unheralded Craig Porter Jr., two-way forward Nae’Qwan Tomlin and second-round rookie Tyrese Proctor.
But there’s no dependable scorer coming off the bench like Jerome — a dynamic and unflappable gunner who anchored the group and often went on heaters that extended leads or erased deficits.
Enter Hunter, who was in the 6MOY running and enjoying a career year in that role before arriving from Atlanta in a February trade.
Despite nonstop chatter about Hunter being the team’s summertime MVP, he hasn’t looked the part.
The full-time starting small forward — a role he was given after Max Strus’ offseason foot injury and a subsequent conversation with Atkinson about where Hunter would be most comfortable — is averaging 15.4 points on 42.9% shooting, including a career-worst 30.3% from beyond the arc.
With him on the floor, the Cavs have a 114.1 offensive rating, a defensive rating of 116.3 and net rating of -2.2. They are statistically better with him off — an 8.3 net rating. That number, while somewhat noisy because of the lineup variance, is in large part tied to his porous defense — ranked as a 10th percentile defender in Defensive Estimated Plus-Minus.
This hypothetical Hunter swap would allow Cleveland to potentially rediscover its lost defensive identity — even during a stretch where they will be without reigning Defensive Player of the Year Evan Mobley because of a calf strain.
Defense has been the focal point these past few weeks. It was the impetus behind Cleveland’s harsh film session last week.
“We have to play better defense if we are going to do something this year‚" Atkinson said pointedly following Friday’s escape against the rebuilding Washington Wizards.
And yet Sunday was all too familiar.
Breakdowns at the point of attack. Slopy closeouts. Late rotations. Poor communication. Inactivity. Lapses in concentration.
Versatile Dean Wade, who closed the Charlotte game at center, ranks in the 93rd percentile in Defensive Estimated Plus-Minus. He is first on the roster in Defensive Box Plus-Minus and tied for third in Defensive Win Shares.
Second-year forward Jaylon Tyson continues to be praised for his energetic nightly impact, willingness to guard the opponent’s best player and relentless rebounding. Tyson has also been as good, if not better, than Hunter on the offensive end, so the potential loss there is negligible.
If you are going to keep making proclamations about being a defense-first outfit, then you must make decisions that align with that.
A starting lineup of Darius Garland, Donovan Mitchell, Jarrett Allen, Tyson and Wade could also provide more scoring balance. Wade is a low-maintenance, low-usage, low-volume player who doesn’t demand touches or shot attempts. He can blend into a variety of lineups and looks. Tyson has adapted well to this off-ball 3-and-D role — often waiting for catch-and-shoot opportunities or timely cuts.
Hunter would then become the second unit bucket-getter, something the Cavs desperately need in the face of their injuries.
The potential change could also benefit Hunter — akin to a slumping baseball player moving down in the batting order.
Less pressure. More freedom. More touches. More shots. Perhaps a mental reset that leads to more comfort. An opportunity to steal minutes against reserves instead of starters. Utilized in a way similar to 2024-25 when he had a statistical breakthrough, away from the Cavaliers’ ball-dominant guards.
No one player is responsible for the team’s continued struggles. Garland isn’t playing like an All-Star. Allen has missed 11 games. Mobley has taken the offensive leap needed. Cleveland is missing the gravitational pull and perpetual movement of Strus and Merrill. It has been too reliant on the 3-point shot — despite ranking 28th in shooting percentage from deep.
It’s only December. Not even Christmas yet. Too early to panic and make drastic changes. There are lots of issues and no magic bullet.
But Hunter is clearly in a funk and after losses to short-handed Golden State and Charlotte, sandwiched between a narrow escape in Washington D.C., sticking with the status quo isn’t the right approach either.
So, why not try a subtle lineup change? It’s what Atkinson’s mentor Steve Kerr would do — and has already done.