After the Cleveland Cavaliers struck a deal for Lonzo Ball and agreed to bring back Sam Merrill, the writing was on the wall for Ty Jerome’s future with the team, and now, it appears he is indeed on the verge of landing elsewhere.
According to a report, the Memphis Grizzliesappear “poised to secure a commitment” from Jerome in free agency.
There was a growing anticipation as 6 PM ET approached that Memphis is indeed poised to secure a commitment from the in-demand Ty Jerome,” wroteNBA insiders Marc Stein and Jake Fischer. “The ultimate price point for such a deal remains critical to the Grizzlies’ other offseason goals: Completing a renegotiation-and-extension with Jaren Jackson Jr. Jr. and maintaining sufficient flexibility to match offers to restricted free agent Santi Aldama.”
Jerome just had the best year of his career with the Cavs, upping his value and likely increasing competition for his services. He averaged 12.5 points, 2.5 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game while shooting 51.6 percent from the field and 43.9 percent from deep, largely in a bench role.
The one knock on Jerome is that he did have a rough showing in the second round of the playoffs against the Indiana Pacers as the Cavs were eliminated in five games. Jerome had 21 points and eight assists in Game 1, but he averaged just 4.8 points and 1.3 assists per game on poor shooting the rest of the way.
He likely did enough during the season to secure a nice deal in free agency, however, and it will be interesting to see what he ends up getting paid.
If he joins the Grizzlies, he’ll head to a team that has talent but is still trying to get to the next level in the Western Conference. Memphis made the playoffs this past season but was swept in the first round by the Oklahoma City Thunder. The squad’s best playoff run in recent years came in 2022, when it reached the second round.
Getting over the hump in the West in the 2025-26 season is likely going to be far tougher than getting over the hump in a weakened East, but if Jerome signs with Memphis, that’s exactly what he’ll try to help the team do.
