The Cleveland Cavs have emerged as title contenders equipped with depth, led by 6th man Ty Jerome and his pending contract extension. While one NBA analyst doesn’t perceive the Cavs as championship contenders, it’s still in the Cleveland’s best interest to keep its depth intact, which appears to be the plan. However, what kind of money will Jerome command during the offseason?
Amid the best season of his career, Jerome is in the second year of his two-year, $5 million contract. For the Cavs’ upcoming offseason, signing Jerome to an extension will be a top priority, according to Cleveland.com’s NBA insider Chris Fedor via the Wine and Gold Talk podcast.
“They’re not getting Ty Jerome for $2.5 million, and they’re probably not getting Sam Merrill for $2 million,” Fedor said. “Ty is more in the range of the non-taxpayer midlevel exception, maybe the full midlevel exception. I think the Cavs would be comfortable between $12 to $14 million annually, maybe $10 to $13 million. Something like that. It’s got to be a competitive offer. Some of this is going to be dictated by the market, but I think right around the midlevel exception is his right valuation.”
Jerome is averaging career-bests in points (11.8), field-goal percentage (52.5%), three-point shooting percentage (44.4%), and steals (1.2) in 19.2 minutes per game. With De’Andre Hunter under contract, retaining the Cavs’ sixth man in Ty Jerome would keep their core intact, as Cleveland’s starting lineup is also under contract.
For the first time since LeBron James donned Wine and Gold in 2018, the Cavs are leading the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference standings. Some analysts believe they have a chance to dethrone the champs in the postseason.
Some NBA insiders believe Cavs would beat Celtics in playoffs
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Fifty-eight games into the 2024-25 campaign, head coach Kenny Atkinson has led the Cavs to the best record (48-10) in the NBA. After a historic 15-0 start, the Cavs remain atop the Eastern Conference standings.
For one Eastern Conference scout, it’s enough to give the Cavs the benefit of the doubt in a best-of-7 series against the champion Celtics, per ESPN’s Tim Bontemps.
“Before the Hunter trade, I would’ve said the Cavs were shakier,” an East scout said. “Hunter isn’t a lockdown guy, but he’s another option to throw on [Jayson] Tatum and [Jaylen] Brown, he’s having a career year, and they didn’t have a guy like that before. I think they can beat anybody. They are so balanced and steady, and they’re really not going to beat themselves.”
Cavs fans are looking forward to seeing how this season ends. Anything short of an Eastern Conference Finals appearance would be a disappointment.
