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Cleveland Cavaliers’ biggest mistake in 2025 NBA free agency
Image credit: ClutchPoints

The Cleveland Cavaliers were arguably the most disappointing team of the 2024-25 season; they were on fire for much of the regular season and ended up with 64 wins on the year, only to falter when it mattered the most. The Cavs saw their dream season come to an end at the hands of the Indiana Pacers, losing in the second round of the playoffs in just five games after failing to weather the injury to Darius Garland.

Many suggested that the Cavs simply blow it up and start over again after the five-game series loss to the Pacers showed that there might be a few weaknesses that cannot be addressed with anything other than a drastic roster overhaul. However, their moves thus far this offseason suggest that they are simply looking to run everything back — this time with what they hope would be a better supporting cast.

The Eastern Conference is wide-open after all, and the Cavs have a chance to finally get over the hump. But will this decision during the 2025 NBA free agency period come back to haunt Cleveland?

Is the Cavs’ decision to choose Sam Merrill over Ty Jerome the correct choice?

May 13, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Ty Jerome (2) reacts during the second half against the Indiana Pacers in game five of the second round for the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Rocket Arena. Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

With the Cavs being over the second apron, they had to make a decision between keeping Sam Merrill or Ty Jerome. Keeping either one over the other has its merits, and ultimately, the Cavs decided to make use of the remaining room they have to bring someone back to re-sign Merrill to a four-year, $38 million deal — a major triumph for a former 60th overall selection.

It boiled down in the end to the Cavs deciding to keep the better defender between Merrill and Jerome. Merrill has shown that he is capable of picking up opposing ballhandlers all the way in the backcourt, and he’s not exactly someone who commands much of the basketball — freeing up Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell to do the bulk of the heavy lifting on offense.

But at the end of the day, Merrill only stands at 6’4″, and he’ll still be a target for opposing teams in the pick-and-roll. His viability in lineups with both Mitchell and Garland isn’t the best either considering his lack of size.

Nonetheless, Merrill is a much-better defender than Jerome. Jerome was exposed on that end of the floor during the Pacers series, and he ended up struggling as well on offense for stretches during that fateful five-game defeat — earning himself a benching in some crucial moments.

Jerome, however, did have his moments of explosive scoring, and he’s another ballhandler who can take the load off of Mitchell and Garland, especially during the regular season. And considering how the Cavs may want to manage Garland’s workload to help keep him fresh for the playoffs, keeping Jerome could have been a valuable insurance policy, as he’s a more self-sufficient player than Merrill could ever be.

With the addition of Lonzo Ball in a trade that required Cleveland to give up Isaac Okoro, the Cavs already have that hard-nosed defending guard that can also slide up to the three in certain lineups. One would think that Jaylon Tyson will also be given a chance to crack the rotation as a potential 3-and-D wing.

Keeping Jerome would have given the Cavs another dimension — a certified heat-check scorer who can turn things around for the team. Instead, they came to the conclusion that Merrill’s 3-and-D, off-ball contributions are more valuable than Jerome and the offense he brings to the table.

Maybe what convinced the Cavs was that Merrill made what was already an incredible team hit a higher gear; their net rating was 2.3 points better with Merrill on the floor, per PBP Stats.

Not too many could have foreseen that Merrill would end up making more from the open market than Jerome would. Jerome was one of the most efficient scorers off the bench last season with the ability to step into the starting lineup with ease, after all; he averaged 12.5 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 3.4 assists per game last year on shooting splits of 52/44/87.

Merrill, meanwhile, had shooting splits of 41/37/97 and averaged 7.2 points last year in nearly the same amount of minutes per game that Jerome had.

Make no mistake about it, keeping Merrill over Jerome isn’t a big mistake whatsoever. In fact, it may not even be a mistake. It’s just, the Cavs have to really value Merrill and his intangible production more than the flashy nature of what Jerome brings to the table.

Only time will tell if the Cavs made the correct decision. But this is about the only move they made this free agency period that could be called into question.

This article first appeared on NBA on ClutchPoints and was syndicated with permission.

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