Cavs’ potential Tyus Jones FA signing would make so much sense

Jones filled in well as a starter this season, and he’s solid defensively

Also, Jones has shown that when needed as a fill-in starter, he can get the job done, as evidenced by his play in times when Morant has missed time due to injury. It wasn’t in the playoffs, in this sense, and Morant’s injury didn’t exactly help Memphis in their semifinal loss to the Golden State Warriors.

Jones did a solid job when he was in in this postseason, though, and some postseason experience from him could help the Cavaliers in coming years, to that point. And as a starter during this regular season, Jones’ play did help the Grizz have a 20-5 record without Morant. Memphis’ record was 5-4 when Jones started when Morant missed time the season prior, which wasn’t nearly the same, but there was marketed growth from the Grizz’s young guys in this last season, frankly.

Partially along those lines for the team impact, on the defensive end, the 6-foot Jones is a capable lead guard defender, and is competent enough to handle primary playmakers for stretches, and some opposing 2s, in my opinion. He’s going to be in the right spots as a team defender as well, typically, and can make plays in passing lanes. Lifetime, he’s had 1.9 steals per-36 minutes, which could help the Cavs get out in the open floor.

So, overall, while I wouldn’t be necessarily surprised if Jones were to re-sign this offseason with Memphis, considering the success the Grizzlies had this season and their strides in 2020-21, maybe with Cleveland’s turnaround, he’d consider signing with the Cavs.

Perhaps, if the Cavaliers were to have the non-taxpayer MLE available, roughly that number for a multi-year deal could be a reasonable number for Jones, who had a cap hit of $8.8 and $8.4 million the past two seasons. He previously signed via the MLE with Memphis back in 2019 as a restricted free agent, and his deal was not matched by Minnesota then.

Granted, of course, we’ll have to see what happens with Sexton and feasibly LeVert, but it’s understandable as to why the Cavaliers have been linked to the 26-year-old Jones as a potential free agency target.