On Monday, June 9, ESPN’s Shams Charania announced Darius Garland will miss four to five months. Cleveland’s starting PG had surgery on his big toe and will miss the start of the 2025-26 season.
With that news, Joe Vardon of The Athletic reported that the Cavs feel pressured to re-sign backup PG Ty Jerome. He was valuable in 2024-25 as Cleveland’s sixth man. However, the Cavaliers will enter the second tax apron next season. Re-signing Jerome would push the Cavs well beyond their second round if they do not part ways with anyone else.
We’ll see this offseason just how much the Cavs value Ty Jerome
Cavs Could Feel Pressure To Re-Sign Ty Jerome Due To Darius Garland Injury https://t.co/zXnhq8MIBa
— RealGM (@RealGM) June 10, 2025
After winning a National Championship with Virginia in college, Ty Jerome was drafted 24th overall by the 76ers. On draft night, Philadelphia traded Jerome to the Celtics. Boston then traded Jerome again to the Suns, and that’s where he played his rookie season. In six professional seasons, Jerome has been traded three times. Ahead of 2023-24, he signed a two-year, $5 million deal with the Cavaliers.
Ty Jerome only played two games for the Cavs in 2023-24 due to an ankle injury that required surgery. The 27-year-old bounced back in 2024-25, playing in 70 of Cleveland’s 82 games. Jerome averaged a career-high 12.5 points per game. Additionally, his .439 three-point percentage was a new personal best. While Ty Jerome was a key piece off the bench for Cleveland, they have some big contracts kicking in for next season.
Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley are set to make 30% of the team’s salary cap in 2025-26. The Cavaliers are already in the second apron before even trying to re-sign Ty Jerome. ESPN’s Brian Windhorst reported that Cleveland is active in trade talks. They could try to shed a few contracts to make room to sign Jerome. Cleveland holds Early Bird rights for Ty Jerome. Allowing them to give him a considerable pay raise this summer. The Cavs’ bench could look different to start 2025-26.