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The Cleveland Cavaliers don't have a ton of flexibility to work with in the free agent market this offseason.
With Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley's extensions kicking in and Darius Garland and Jarrett Allen's already sizeable contracts, the Cavaliers will likely be a second-apron team.
Ty Jerome and Sam Merrill are two players the Cavaliers are at risk of losing this summer in free agency due to their luxury tax restrictions.
Koby Altman briefly touched on this topic during his end-of-season media availability on Monday.
"We'd love to keep [Ty]. I mean, listen, we're hopeful," said Altman during Monday's press conference. "I've got to be careful because he's going to be an unrestricted free agent."
Altman noted that in Kenny Atkinson's player development system, players like Jerome find a new purpose, and "confidence in this system, their value is going to get driven up."
Cleveland's president made similar comments about Sam Merrill, who will also be a free agent this summer.
"You want to call these guys bench players before, who have become real rotation players and valuable within the ecosystem, not just us," continued Altman.
"The good news is, those guys are going to do really well for themselves... Yes, we'd love to keep Ty, but we'll see what the marketplace holds."
The encouraging point here is that Altman is straightforward in saying the team wants to bring Jerome back, and Ty was open about wanting to remain with the Cavaliers earlier this spring.
However, there is still the business piece to all of the NBA, and what players and organisations want may not always come to fruition.
Hopefully, the Cavaliers can retain Jerome and Merrill, key pieces to Cleveland's bench.
But if Cleveland can't, Altman and the front office must quickly pivot to determine their replacements.
Read More Cleveland Cavaliers Coverage Here:
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MORE: Cavaliers' Koby Altman Reveals Stance on Jarrett Allen's Future
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