Let's be clear: it's not Ty Jerome's fault that he hasn't helped the Cleveland Cavaliers this season.
There are plenty of players signed over the summer who have failed to deliver on the production expected when the deal was inked. Names like Shake Milton and Rui Hachimura are fading toward the back of their teams' rotations.
That's not what happened with Ty Jerome. He suffered a serious ankle injury during the second game of the season and hasn't been able to play since. From an objective standpoint Jerome has not helped the Cavs, but it was an unavoidable fluke; neither Ty nor the Cavs are at fault.
Yet it's still true that the Cavaliers would be better off if they had signed a different player this summer. Which names from this past summer's budget-friendly free agent crop (we aren't talking Fred VanVleet here) would have been better for Cleveland to sign?
Player No. 3: Dante Exum
Once upon a time, Dante Exum was the next coming of Magic Johnson, a big point guard who could both defend multiple positions and add some razzle-dazzle with his passing. His career never got off the ground due to injuries and a lack of a jumper, and when he briefly played in Cleveland he was clinging to an NBA career that sent him overseas for two years.
Exum took off playing in Spain, adding that jumpshot and developing into a fringe star. The Dallas Mavericks were the team to take a shot on him this past summer and he has responded with a career-year, shooting 45.2 percent from deep and playing excellent defense, even starting for the past month. The Cavs would love to have Exum in the fold right now.