Cavs insider on Ty Jerome: ‘I think he’s going to get an opportunity to be the backup point guard’

Cleveland Cavaliers guard Ty Jerome reportedly could be the team’s backup point guard in the 2024-25 season after only appearing in two games due to injury last season.

Jerome, who played for the Golden State Warriors in the 2022-23 season, has familiarity with new Cavs head coach Kenny Atkinson.

“If the Cavs are going to be committed to trying to diversify their offense, and try and not put as much pressure or playmaking responsibility on Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell, Ty Jerome is somebody who can take some of those responsibilities,” Cleveland.com’s Chris Fedor said. “He could shoot from the outside. He plays at a fast pace. He understands the Golden State Warriors system if Kenny Atkinson is going to implement some of those principles that he learned from Golden State.

“So, I think there are a lot of signs that if Ty Jerome is on this team – he remains on this team through the trade deadline – I think he’s going to get an opportunity to be the backup point guard coming out of training camp.”

Jerome’s 2023-24 season ended after just two games after he underwent surgery on his right ankle. In the first two games of the season, he averaged 2.0 points and 1.5 assists across 7.5 minutes per game.

While Jerome didn’t appear to have a major role early on in former head coach J.B. Bickerstaff’s rotation, things could change now that Atkinson is in charge in Cleveland. Jerome signed a two-year, $5 million deal with the Cavs prior to the 2023-24 season.

Mitchell and Garland are undoubtedly the two primary ball-handlers for the Cavs, but when one of them is on the bench, it could be useful to have a player like Jerome that can play on the ball. This may allow the Cavs to run more off-ball screens for Garland or Mitchell to free them up for jump shots.

Last season, Craig Porter Jr. received some playing time at the backup guard spots for the Cavs, but it seems that it’s possible Jerome comes out of training camp ahead of him in the rotation.

During the 2022-23 season with the Warriors, Jerome played in 45 games and made two starts while averaging 18.1 minutes per game. He put up 6.9 points, 3.0 assists and 1.7 rebounds per game while shooting an impressive 38.9 percent from 3-point range.

The Cavs are returning a good chunk of their roster that made the second round of the playoffs last season, and getting a player like Jerome back from injury could bolster their bench in the upcoming season.

It’ll be interesting to see if Jerome’s connection with Atkinson helps him carve out a role for Cleveland when the 2024-25 NBA season kicks off.