The Cleveland Cavaliers will have limited options to replace Ty Jerome.
They certainly hope that they do not have to. Jerome has been a key piece of the team's success this season, including stepping up when either Darius Garland or Donovan Mitchell miss time. In the team's recent win in Portland without Mitchell in the lineup, Jerome dropped 25 points on the Trail Blazers.
Yet the reality is Jerome has played so well he is due for a significant pay raise this summer - and the Cavs are doomed if they do, doomed if they don't. They are limited to offering him a contract no higher than about $14 million to start; another team may be willing to come in and beat that offer. On the other hand, they are already projected into the second luxury tax apron, and paying Jerome $14 million will rocket them into even more punitive team-building restrictions and financial penalties.
If Jerome walks, either because someone outbids the Cavaliers or they felt they couldn't offer a market deal anyways, Koby Altman will need to find a replacement. After trading away Caris LeVert, the team needs someone to fill that role as a backup playmaker and shot creator. Most of the rest of their team is designed to excel alongside shot creators; having Jerome on the roster allows the Cavs to always have two creators on the court and provides insurance to injury.
The Cavaliers could look for a replacement on the trade market, but their hands will be tied on how to structure trades if they are above the second apron. Signing a replacement is functionally out the window as they will be limited to minimum contract players.
One option, therefore is to look to the NBA Draft. The Cavaliers will have a pair of second-round picks and could try to draft and develop the next Ty Jerome. There are a few intriguing options who could be available - none more intriguing than Bennett Stirtz.
Bennett Stirtz is this draft's Ty Jerome
On a recent episode of the Game Theory podcast with Sam Vecenie and Bryce Simon, the hosts were discussing draft prospects who performed well in the NCAA Tournament. One name who came up was Bennett Stirtz, a 6'4" point guard who led the Drake Bulldogs through a dominant season in the Missouri Valley Conference and to a First Round upset of the Missouri Tigers.
Stirtz is not an elite athlete, but his skill level is incredible. He is a knockdown shooter, comfortable pulling up from distance but also shooting off movement, the kind of versatility that is ideal for a secondary playmaker. He has good touch around the basket, can make every pass (even if he does turn it over a good amount as well) and played in a modern offensive system that should ease his transition to the NBA.
In the Missouri Valley title game he dropped 24 points and four assists to secure a spot in the tournament for Drake. He followed that up with 21 and four in the upset win over Missouri, then 21 points and eight assists in a loss to Texas Tech. He played all 40 minutes in all three games.
Vecenie and Simon brought up NBA comparisons for Stirtz -- a guard with size, excels in college in a slow but modern system, who is not only a knockdown shooter but has the versatility to play on-ball and off-ball, and who steps up his game against elite competition. Their best comparison? Former Virginia Cavaliers national champion Ty Jerome.
Who better to replace Jerome than the next Ty Jerome? Stirtz could step in as a rookie and likely have a small role, perhaps alongside a minimum signing. By the next year, Stirtz would still be extremely cheap but likely be ready for more of a role. He has significantly improved every year of his college career, so there is a lot of evidence he will continue to grow as an NBA player.
Everything seems so perfect, except for one problem: Stirtz is not entering the NBA Draft.
Stirtz is staying in college
While the situation could change, and everything about college basketball is fluid these days, Stirtz is reportedly following his longtime head coach Ben McCollum to his new job at Iowa. There Stirtz will likely receive a significant NIL package and continue to thrive alongside McCollum, likely looking to further improve his draft stock for the 2026 NBA Draft.
That's a bummer for the Cavaliers, but it highlights a potential path. If they can find the ideal guard who is undervalued by the league -- as Ty Jerome was two years ago when they signed him off of a two-way contract, or as names like Austin Reaves or Fred VanVleet were when they went undrafted, they can both keep their payroll down and develop an ideal complement to their stars.
For now, the clearest path to that victory is gone. Perhaps Ty Jerome won't leave and the pressure is off. Perhaps he will and the Cavs will be pressed to make another shrewd move to maintain a contender. Either way, Bennett Stirtz will be in Iowa City, not Cleveland next season