THE The Cleveland Cavaliers did very little during the offseason other than grant extensions Donovan Mitchell, Evan MobleyAnd Jarrett Allen.
Management clearly has confidence in the current roster’s potential to be a finals contender. However, the team will need to stay healthy to achieve that.
The Wine and Gold’s season was ruined by injuries last year. From Allen’s absence in the early games of October to Mitchell’s absence in the Eastern Conference semifinals, the team was never able to stay healthy.
There is another member of the Cavaliers who has been injured practically the entire season. Ty Jeromewho has played just two games after signing a two-year contract with Cleveland last summer. Jerome suffered a sprained ankle early in the season that required surgery and left him out the rest of the season.
Jerome will be back with the team next season, but what exactly will his role be within the team? Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com believes he could be a key part of the Cavaliers’ offense and has the potential to become the team’s backup point guard.
“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 those responsibilities.” said Fedor on the Wine & Gold Talk podcast.
“I think there’s a lot of signs that if Ty Jerome is on this team, 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.”
It is important to note that there was reports from last week The Cavs were looking to sign another player with ties to new head coach Kenny Atkinson. In a way, that player could be Jerome, even though he’s not a new face for the organization.
Jerome was with the Golden State Warriors from 2022-23, while Atkinson was an assistant on Steve KerrJerome found success in this system, averaging 6.9 points, 1.7 rebounds and 3.0 assists in his final full NBA season.
There is a real possibility that Jerome will be in the rotation next year. However, there will certainly be competition for that backup point guard spot.
The Cavaliers found a diamond in the rough by signing an undrafted free agent Craig Porter Jr. after the 2023 draft. Porter played his part in Cleveland’s rotation at various times last season and earned a four-year contract extension midway through the year. The rookie averaged 5.6 points, 2.1 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 51 games.
It’ll be tough for Cleveland to find room for both Jerome and Porter in their rotation every game, so this backup point guard competition is definitely something to watch during training camp and the preseason.
