Sacramento Kings Predicted to Sign Top Free Agent Guard

If the Kings do end up moving Malik Monk for a high draft pick or starting-level player, Jerome would be the best possible replacement and would come at a slightly cheaper price if he does end up getting the NTMLE. 

While Jerome was mostly used to spell Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell, he was still successful while sharing the floor with one of the All-Star guards. The two-man lineups of Jerome and Garland/Mitchell were both solid, with net ratings of 9.8 and 11.5, respectively. Jerome was also excellent when playing with the two bigs, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen, with a 24.7 net rating as a three-man lineup. Of course, net rating only means so much, and the value may even drop when using two or three-man lineups instead of 5, but that’s why we have tape. 

This play above is such a great example because it shows two reasons why Jerome is such an impactful offensive player. First, Jerome sees Mobley pick up his dribble after being pressured on the perimeter and notices Davion Mitchell ball watching, so he cuts behind Mitchell and gives Mobley an easy pass to the middle of the key. Next, Jerome knows Mobley is wide open because both defenders follow Max Strus to the top of the key, and Ty casually leads his defender away from the lane as he drops it off to Mobley for an easy dunk.

These kinds of connecting plays are so important to offensive flow, especially when your two leading scorers are off the floor and baskets aren’t as easy to come by. 

While Jerome’s feel for the game is a huge reason he broke out last year, the biggest factor was his shooting. Jerome has always been a solid shooter at about 38% for his career, but his 60% effective field goal percentage was by far a career high and good for 14th in the NBA. Add Jerome to the Kings, and now they have four players who shot over 40% from deep last season, along with Zach LaVine, Keon Ellis, and Domantas Sabonis. 

For a team that was barely inside the top 20, adding Jerome’s shooting would be a difference maker. Jerome specifically excels at pull-up threes, where he shot better than the greatest shooter of all time last season. 

Most of the knocks on Jerome are now revolving around his issues in the playoffs against the Indiana Pacers, where he went 3/20 from three and only scored more than eight points in one game. While now Indiana’s defense is looked at as one of the best in the league, Jerome’s performance might’ve cost him a bigger pay day and kept a team like the Kings in the running for his services.

We’ll see if Sacramento ends up targeting Jerome, but that should completely hinge on the rest of the moves that are made this offseason.