Two years after departing the Golden State Warriors, Ty Jerome has had a career-best year with the Cleveland Cavaliers that culminated in finishing third in the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year voting.
Yet it's that excellent form and production that's going to leave a problem for the Cavaliers in re-signing Jerome this offseason, just as the Warriors had in 2023 albeit to a far lesser degree.
The Cavaliers may have to let Ty Jerome walk like the Warriors did
While Michael Scotto of HoopsHype reports that Jerome's preference is to stay in Cleveland, there's also a belief that the franchise may be forced into letting the 27-year-old walk, or have to make a trade elsewhere in order to retain him.
"NBA executives are now wondering if Cleveland will be more likely to let Jerome walk in free agency now that the Cavaliers are projected to be over the second apron or if the franchise will make a trade elsewhere on the roster to try and re-sign Jerome and duck the second apron, if possible?" - Michael Scotto
Jerome may now be a far better and more valuable player, but this is still a similar situation to what Golden State found themselves in two years ago. Jerome initially joined the Warriors on a two-way contract ahead of the 2022-23 season, having played his first three years in the league with the Phoenix Suns and Oklahoma City Thunder.
The former 24th overall pick impressed for Golden State, appearing in 45 games and averaging 6.9 points and 3.0 assists per game. While that production wasn't eye-popping, the same efficiency we now see with the Cavaliers was evident with the Warriors. Jerome narrowly missed out on 50/40/90, ultimately shooting 48.8% from the floor, 38.9% from 3-point range, and 92.7% from the free-throw line. His assist-to-turnover ratio was also elite, something that stood out on a team who were (and continue to be) prone to recklessly giving the ball away.
Golden State signalled their intention to keep Jerome by extending him a qualifying offer, but they also had over $120 million tied up in guards already with Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Chris Paul. As Anthony Slater of The Athletic reported, the Warriors then had no plans to match once the Cavaliers came through with a bigger, multi-year offer.
Will Cleveland do the same in letting Jerome walk if another team forces their hand? Either way, it could be an excruciating answer to come to given how valuable and important he's been to the top-seed Cavs this season.