Injuries have undeniably played a big factor, one way or another, for the Cleveland Cavaliers in recent seasons. If, or more likely when, they do so once more, Jaylon Tyson will get his opportunity to shine.
The Cavaliers have plenty of depth on this roster, enough to make them the favorites in the Eastern Conference. They will need it when some of their more fragile players are forced to miss time.
Tyson may enter the 2025-26 campaign with a handful of names ahead of him in the pecking order off the bench. However, it should not be long before the second-year man slides up a spot or two in that hierarchy. When that happens, Tyson will get his surefire edge to secure a sophomore leap.
"There's probably a 10-man rotation. Tyson might be the 10th or 11th guy," Danny Cunningham stated on the Ultimate Cleveland Sports Show. "All those guys are not going to play 82 games. ... There will be an opportunity for Jaylon Tyson. It's just, what is he going to do with that opportunity?"
Cavaliers' cap crunch requires Jaylon Tyson to grow into a contributor
Cunningham expressed that Tyson's ability, or lack thereof, to take advantage of his moment, when he gets it, will be a huge story for the future of the Cavaliers. Mike Lucas agreed and pointed out a big reason for this.
Cavaliers fans are probably a little drained of the salary cap talk, but it is important here. Lucas identified the financial restrictions on Cleveland as an obvious factor as to why they need the most they can get out of Tyson.
The Cavaliers wing is on a nice and affordable rookie-scale contract for 2025-26, valued around $3.5 million. They will have two years of team options on Tyson for the 2026-27 and 2027-28 seasons that follow.
Jaylon Tyson with 23-5-3 on 9/10 FG to finish Summer League pic.twitter.com/eHkQeUuN3v
— Keandre Ashley (@HoopIntelllect) July 20, 2024
The encouraging signs of his development have already been there. Tyson looked like one of biggest winners for the Cavaliers at the NBA 2K26 Summer League.
The summer league standout averaged 19.7 points, 6.0 rebounds, 6.7 assists, 1.3 steals, and 1.3 blocks per game in Vegas. The shooting percentages still left a bit to be desired, with Tyson connecting on 40.4 percent from the field and 34.8 percent from beyond the arc.
However, overall, the increased comfort on display offensively was notable. Now, that just needs to translate to the full-scale capacity of the NBA, when Tyson gets his moments to make an impact off the bench.