The Cleveland Cavaliers lost one of their biggest contributors from last season.
Ty Jerome was an absolute stud off the bench in his lone year under Kenny Atkinson’s tutelage, and he became a fan favorite.
Unfortunately, the team had to make a financial decision, and after watching him struggle mightily in the playoffs, it became painfully evident that they needed a different type of player.
Even so, the Memphis Grizzlies are more than happy to have him.
Talking to Keith Smith of Spotrac, an unnamed Grizzlies executive gushed about Jerome’s scoring outbursts and fit next to Ja Morant:
“We had to get some more bench scoring. That’s been a thing we’ve needed for a while now. Ty is going to be huge for us, especially with Desmond (Bane) having been traded. Ty can play with Ja or he can carry the second unit. We’re excited about having him,” a Memphis front office executive said.
Jerome is coming off the best season of his career, and while the bar wasn’t particularly high, he still earned every single penny of that deal he signed with the Grizzlies.
He filled in for Darius Garland as a starter multiple times, and he also had some huge performances off the bench to either bring the team back into a game or build a big lead.
But at the end of the day, he’s not a pure point guard, and this team needed a secondary ball-handler to pull the strings of the offense in the second unit.
More than that, it ultimately came down to bringing Jerome or Sam Merrill back.
Given the team’s needs and Merrill’s newly-found defensive prowess, the team knew what it had to do.
Even so, the fans should welcome Jerome with a big applause whenever he’s back in town.
Hopefully, he won’t play well against his former team.
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