The Cleveland Cavaliers Point guard Ty Jerome could be the team’s backup point guard for the 2024-25 season after appearing in just two games due to injury last season.
Jerome, who played for the Golden State Warriors during the 2022-23 season, knows the Cavs’ new head coach, Kenny Atkinson.
“If the Cavs want to commit to diversifying their offense and not putting as much pressure or playmaking responsibility on Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell, Ty Jerome is someone who can take on some of that responsibility,” Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com said. “He can shoot from outside. He plays at a fast pace. He understands the Golden State Warriors system if Kenny Atkinson is going to implement some of the principles he learned from Golden State.
“So I think there’s a lot of signs that if Ty Jerome is on this team — if he stays on this team until the trade deadline — I think he’ll have an opportunity to be the backup point guard coming out of training camp.”
Jerome’s 2023-24 season ended after just two games after undergoing surgery on his right ankle. In the first two games of the season, he averaged 2.0 points and 1.5 assists in 7.5 minutes per game.
While Jerome didn’t appear to play a major role in former head coach J.B. Bickerstaff’s rotation early on, things could change now that Atkinson is in charge in Cleveland. Jerome signed a two-year, $5 million contract with the Cavs ahead of the 2023-24 season.
Mitchell and Garland are arguably the Cavs’ two primary playmakers, but when one of them is on the bench, it can be helpful to have a player like Jerome who can play off the ball. This could allow the Cavs to set more off-ball screens for Garland or Mitchell to free them up for jump shots.
Last season, Craig Porter Jr. saw some playing time at backup guard for the Cavs, but it appears there’s a chance Jerome could emerge from training camp ahead of him in the rotation.
During the 2022-23 season with the Warriors, Jerome played in 45 games and started two games, averaging 18.1 minutes per game. He averaged 6.9 points, 3.0 assists and 1.7 rebounds per game, while shooting an impressive 38.9% from three-point range.
The Cavs return a good chunk of their roster that reached the second round of the playoffs last season, and the return of a player like Jerome from injury could bolster their bench next season.
It will be interesting to see if Jerome’s connection to Atkinson helps him carve out a role for Cleveland when the 2024-25 NBA season begins.
