The Dallas Mavericks were blessed by the basketball gods by getting the opportunity to select a potential generational talent in Cooper Flagg after winning the NBA Draft Lottery a little under two weeks ago, even though the organization had no business deserving such an opportunity after trading Luka Doncic away to the Los Angeles Lakers on February 1.
With Dallas not expecting to have a player like Flagg in the lineup just weeks ago, there's going to be a clear logjam created in Dallas' frontcourt (more so than already), and the Mavericks will need to create some financial leniency if they want to maximize their roster and avoid paying a hefty luxury tax bill this upcoming season.
If Dallas were to make a cost-cutting trade and still hadn't acquired the prospective guard help they are desperately seeking, perhaps they could look at Cleveland Cavaliers guard Ty Jerome to be a stopgap guard that can help create offense and be great rotational piece once Kyrie Irving returns from his torn ACL, as Jerome was recently listed as a free agent candidate for Dallas (subscription required) by Cavaliers reporter Chris Fedor.
Mavericks fans should be keeping tabs on Ty Jerome this summer
Jerome was on a two-year $5 million contract with the Cavs for the past two seasons, but he vastly outplayed that contract last season and became one of the best sixth men in the entire NBA on a 64-win Cleveland team. In 70 games last season, Jerome averaged 12.5 points and 3.4 assists with efficient shooting splits of 51.6/43.9/87.2, also chipping in 1.1 steals per game on an average of just under 20 minutes per game.
Jerome had easily the best season of his career with the Cavs at age 27 last season, and he's going to get a payday this offseason from someone and is expected to gauge plenty of interest on the open market, especially since Cleveland would likely have to dip into the luxury tax to re-sign him. It should be noted that Dallas was not one of the most forefront candidates to land Jerome in the aforementioned piece from cleveland.com, but they were noted as a team to "keep an eye on".
It's without a doubt that Jerome would fit perfectly on this Mavericks team offensively, especially with the style of offense the Cavaliers played last season, being a style the Mavericks could potentially be looking to mirror this upcoming season. Jerome could help run the show while Irving is out, and he could even play alongside him once he returns from injury.
Jerome is one of the top catch-and-shoot shooters in the league, something Dallas desperately needs more of, and he could split ball-handling duties with Brandon Williams at a solid clip until Irving returns next season. Dallas doesn't need another elite guard to hold down the fort while Irving is out. They just need someone who can hold their own while playing on or off the ball, and Jerome would bring all of that and more.
While Jerome played some of his best defense of his career this past season for Cleveland, his inconsistencies on that end were glaring in the playoffs, particularly against the Indiana Pacers in the second round, where he was getting blown by consistently.
Jerome would likely require Dallas' non-taxpayer MLE to get a deal done this summer, as an anonymous Eastern Conference executive predicted he'd make anywhere from $12-14 million on the open market. Jerome would be great in Dallas considering the requisite perimeter defense the Mavericks already will have, but the Mavericks would likely prefer a better point-of-attack defender if paying someone that type of money, and they certainly aren't limited to Jerome in terms of finding a stopgap guard this summer, as they could sign someone else or make a trade for that type of player this offseason.
