Nuggets interested in Ty Jerome

Detroit seems unlikely. Coach JB Bickerstaff’s defense-first play style doesn’t suit Jerome’s game and the Pistons are widely expected to prioritize free agent Malik Beasley. One source close to Ty Jerome viewed Detroit as a “longshot” — even though the Pistons need a steady backup behind All-Star Cade Cunningham. -via Cleveland Plain Dealer / May 22, 2025

One Eastern Conference executive who spoke with cleveland.com estimated Ty Jerome’s valuation to be $12-14 million annually — right around the non-taxpayer midlevel exception ($14.1 million) and a dollar figure that does not surpass what the Cavs could offer. A bigger payday once seemed plausible — until Jerome’s horrendous second-round performance against speedy, athletic, feisty Indiana who exposed some of his most worrisome traits, especially on defense, as the Pacers treated him as a figurative traffic cone. Those more lucrative multi-year contracts are typically reserved for starter-quality lead guards — and Jerome is primarily viewed as a backup, finishing third in Sixth Man of the Year voting after a breakthrough season where he averaged 12.5 points on 51.6% from the field and 43.9% from 3-point range to go with 3.4 assists and 2.5 rebounds. If the 27-year-old Jerome is looking for more money, it would have to come from a team with estimated practical salary cap space. There aren’t many of those. Brooklyn. Detroit. Memphis. Chicago. -via Cleveland Plain Dealer / May 22, 2025

Michael Scotto: Cleveland Cavaliers President Koby Altman on free agent guard Ty Jerome: “Love to keep him. We’re hopeful.” “When guys find that confidence in (Kenny Atkinson’s) system, their value gets driven up. Same thing with Sam Merrill. You want to call these guys end of bench players before that became real rotational players and valuable within the ecosystem, not just us. The good news is those guys are going to do really well for themselves.” -via x.com / May 19, 2025