psman2 wrote:Scoot McGroot wrote:psman2 wrote:
I think Jerome is the best per $ offensive player that is like available on the trade market and easy to salary match. Of course he has his issues but that is why he is not worth a better 1st. I don't think we would accept anything close to 4-5 2nds for that package or a top 20 protected 1st. Stewart alone was worth 4-5 2nds? We paid 3 2nds and 15 million in cap. Disagree with your evaluation but the biggest issue is Braun himself being a very bad deal regardless of what you think Jerome is worth.
I didn't make a statement on the value of Braun. Just the Memphis players.
But no, I think if Jerome was as valuable as you think, he'd have had more suitors last offseason? He is absolutely an offensive sparkplug in the regular season, but he's not a "distributor" as much as he is "make a pass to that guy right there" kind of PG, and he's an absolute waste defensively. And, we saw in the playoffs that when the game slows down and every possession is a battle, scoring becomes VERY difficult for him. He may have been the biggest reason on the court that Cleveland got cleared out of the playoffs with ease by Indy in 2025.
He said he took a quite a bit less money and had several offers because he wanted to play for our coach and in his system. So I don't think we can assume he had less suitors based on coming here.
Players say a lot of things to save face. His first big contract and he took about half as much as predicted? That screams "smaller market than hoped for" much more than "Took a little less to go somewhere he thinks he'd succeed". I have no doubt amongst his smaller offers that he might have then chosen the team he felt he'd have more success, but he had a massive season entering free agency that year with a 3/27.7m deal.
I think his passing skills are about average and he is a high IQ player, He can run an offense.
See, I disagree here. He can stand as PG and pass to that guy there, but he can't run/direct an offense. He's still a SG in a PG's body.
His D is poor but so is 75% of the PGs in the league.
Maybe? But it's so poor that it can't be hidden in the playoffs. And it's a season ending calamity type of defense.
I think his best role is still a elite 6th man (finished 3rd in 6MOY 2024-25) and fill in starter and for the right team he could fetch a late 1st in the right circumstance. If a team offered us 2-3 2nds I am rather confident we would turn it down right now, but might consider it at the deadline.
I agree his role is as 6th man, or rather 3rd guard. Scoring specialist off the bench, for sure. But, just because you wouldn't take his realistic cost doesn't mean he's automatically worth a 1st. I wouldn't trade Aaron Nesmith for 2 1sts, but that doesn't mean that his established value is now 3 1sts, because it's what I'd require. Realistically, his value on the market would be a single 1st plus stuff, even if I'm not looking to move him or willing to sell him for that cost.
In 15 games last season before getting injured, Ty Jerome led the entire NBA in points created per 100 possessions, that performance was not just because he was on a bad team, he has skills and played the best he has ever. With Clev he posted a 127.7 offensive rating the year before which for a guard is outstanding and better than the best guards posted that year. I can easily see a trade like the Rockets made for Lou Williams in 2017 that resulted in the 28th pick and shedding another year of Brewer who was a modest deal.
The Cleveland performance you cite proves itself that this is his situational regular season magic that can't be counted on when it matters. And even then, in his 15 game hot stretch in Memphis, he couldn't play back to backs and he never once played 25 minutes in a game? If y'all are willing to take back a bad contract for him, then obviously there's value in the eating of the bad contract. But that doesn't mean that Jerome himself is worth a ton. The rest of the deal has to balance, too.
Yes he had a poor series against Indy, but the series before he played well and was a key player against Miami. He was a +75 +/- overall in the 24-25 playoffs.
It is wild how disparate his production was. He was productive against Miami. But that just points out how he absolutely was a massive, massive negative against Indiana. Jarrett Allen was essentially a 0 that series, and Darius Garland was playing injured, but Ty Jerome was what really hurt Cleveland the most in that series. It wasn't just that he wasn't a positive, but he was such a negative to the Cavs in that series and was easily hunted on defense, and wiped out offensively. He's absolutely not a guy that I'd be able to look at that playoffs and say "Yeah, the Miami series is what we think he really is, rather than the Indiana series".
He's got some value. But he's not a 1st round pick on his own. He's 29 now, and been in the league for 7 years with 5 teams. He's not going to get that "bonus value payment" as either a young guy or a "hidden prospect". And again, if he does completely redevelop his game and play healthy for a full season, he's opting out and either gone, or costing his team a lot more, while probably still not being able to contribute effectively in the playoffs?
