NBA Notes: Grizzlies, Ty Jerome, Suns, Bulls

Grizzlies

Ty Jerome was one of the more under-the-radar names in NBA free agency, but make no mistake, he is a strong pickup for the Grizzlies.

Jerome finished third in Sixth Man of the Year voting last season with the Cavaliers after averaging a career-high 12.5 points on 52 percent shooting overall and 44 percent from deep. Getting him on the room midlevel exception is tremendous value for Memphis.

Jerome’s stock took a small hit during a rough playoff series against the Pacers, where he struggled in Games 2 and 3 and became a target defensively. Still, landing a player of his caliber for under $10 million per year feels like an overcorrection.

Cleveland’s tax crunch didn’t help his market either, as the Cavaliers chose to keep Sam Merrill on a slightly cheaper deal.

The Grizzlies get needed guard depth behind Ja Morant, who has missed extended time in each of the last two seasons. With Cole Anthony gone to the Bucks, Jerome adds backcourt insurance (with Scotty Pippen Jr.). Jerome can also slide over to shooting guard, where Desmond Bane’s departure created an opening.

The Grizzlies have made a habit of building strong benches. Landing Jerome helps keep that going.

Suns

The Suns went all-in for 2024, wrote Kevin Pelton of ESPN.

The result: zero playoff wins and a full teardown just a year later. The Bradley Beal–Kevin Durant–Devin Booker trio never materialized into a title contender. Now Beal and Durant are gone, the Suns are out of the second apron, and they have no realistic path to cap space.

Even their 2032 first-rounder is frozen. The roster is overloaded with guards, and the timeline is unclear at best.

Bulls

The Bulls extended front office leaders Arturas Karnisovas and Marc Eversley along with coach Billy Donovan. The results haven’t matched the commitment, Pelton wrote.

Chicago has made the playoffs once in eight years and failed to get real value in trades involving Alex Caruso, DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine. The one silver lining? Plenty of cap room is projected for next summer.

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