Jerome is playing himself towards a big pay day.
Ty Jerome is playing fantastic basketball for the Cleveland Cavaliers. The only downside is that he’s playing so good that they might struggle to retain him in the offseason. Jerome is in the final year of his deal and will enter unrestricted free agency in the summer.
This is a good problem to have. Jerome’s averaging career-best numbers while providing a huge boost to the Cavalier bench. He’s a core reason the team has seen so much success to begin the current season.
Moving forward, Jerome would have every reason to secure a massive payday. He’s only been signed to rookie-scale and minimum deals for most of his career. But a breakout season for Jerome might mean breaking the bank for Cleveland.
The Cavaliers are already locked into lucrative deals for Evan Mobley, Darius Garland, Jarrett Allen and Donovan Mitchell. Huge contracts for the core four have left the franchise with limited options for extending other talent. Keeping Jerome will come with challenges but it isn’t impossible as outlined by Bob Schmidt of the Fear the Fro podcast.
The team-friendly version of this deal would result in a contract somewhere in the $5 million-a-year range. It’s much lower than what Jerome might expect on the open market (assuming he continues playing at a high level). But, this is the team-friendly deal that Cleveland will hold out hope for.
More realistic is a brand new contract from another team. Jerome is playing himself towards a load of cash this summer and plenty of squads need a point guard. The San Antonio Spurs, Utah Jazz, New Orleans Pelicans and Minnesota Timberwolves are a few teams that come to mind. Jerome may get an offer he can’t refuse from a different franchise this summer.
The Cavaliers could solve this issue by using Jerome’s Early Bird rights to give him a pay raise. This is how Early Bird rights are explained by Hoops Rumors:
The crucial difference between Bird rights and Early Bird rights involves the limitations on contract offers. Bird players can receive maximum-salary deals for up to five years, while the most a team can offer an Early Bird free agent without using cap space is 175% of his previous salary (up to the max) or 105% of the league-average salary in the previous season, whichever is greater.
The Cavs won’t have a chance of retaining him by using 175% of his previous contract, but they do have a chance by spending 105% of the league-average salary. Calculating what exactly the league-average salary will be is tricky at this point, but it could be within the ballpark of $12.5 million per season based on the current average which is subject to change.
The Cavaliers can make a stronger offer if they are willing to commit long-term to Jerome. Cleveland can take things as far as around four years, $56 million dollars to keep Jerome by using his Early Bird rights. That number is calculated using the $12.5 million offer they could start with this summer and increasing the pay as allowed under the cap per season. It could increase closer to $60 million depending on where the current average salary lands.
This wouldn’t require any salary dumps but it would lock the Cavs into a multi-year deal with a player who has only had one successful NBA season, up to this point. How comfortable you feel in this bargain will likely be easier to decide by the end of the season rather than late November.
The Cavs could also try to duck below the luxury tax line to open up the full mid-level exception for Jerome which would give him a little more per year. This would be more difficult to do and wouldn’t be the preferred option.
Either way, the Cavs might have an uphill battle if Jerome continues playing at a Sixth Man of the Year level. There’s an incentive for both sides to get a deal done this summer. After all, if it ain’t broke don’t fix it. But until then — let’s enjoy the Typhoon while it’s here.
