How Ty Jerome Could Improve Warriors' Roster amid Latest NBA Rumors
The core of the Golden State Warriors' roster entering the 2022-23 season has remained unchanged. Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green are all back, as are many of the other key players who helped lead the team to an NBA title in the 2021-22 campaign.
However, the Warriors' complete roster isn't set, as evidenced by some of the moves they're making this week.
On Monday, Golden State announced that it had waived both guard Mac McClung and forward Trevion Williams. That opened two spots—but who is going to fill them?
There wasn't much suspense regarding that. Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium reported that the Warriors are signing forward Anthony Lamb to a training-camp deal and that they plan to do the same with guard Ty Jerome, who was waived by the Houston Rockets on Saturday.
Once Jerome clears waivers, his signing with Golden State will be made official. And while the 25-year-old guard isn't a big-name player, he is somebody who could make a key impact for the Warriors during the upcoming season.
Jerome is a former first-round draft pick, taken by the Philadelphia 76ers with the No. 24 overall selection in 2019. But the former University of Virginia standout was traded twice on draft night and ended up with the Phoenix Suns heading into his rookie season.
Since arriving in the NBA, Jerome has flashed his potential at times. He didn't get a ton of playing time with the Suns during the 2019-20 campaign (an average of 10.6 minutes over 31 games), but he got more opportunities after getting dealt to the Oklahoma City Thunder in November 2020 as part of the Chris Paul trade.
Jerome averaged 10.7 points and 3.6 assists in 33 games in the 2020-21 season then averaged 7.1 points and 2.3 assists in 48 games last season. So he could become a solid scoring option for the bench now that he's with Golden State.
The Warriors don't need Jerome to rise to a starting level, considering they have Curry and Thompson in the backcourt. That means there should be less pressure on Jerome to perform, as he'll be surrounded by the most talented group of teammates he's had in his NBA career.
Will Jerome be on Golden State's roster when it hosts the Los Angeles Lakers on the opening night of the season on Oct. 18? That's not a sure thing. It's possible he could end up with the G League's Santa Cruz Warriors instead.
But it's always important for an NBA team to have depth. Some players get injured, others underperform. There could be a need at any point to bring in a player like Jerome to provide a boost.
That's why the pending signing of Jerome is a great low-risk move by Golden State that could potentially reap a high reward. Jerome has experience and a solid skill set, which should make him a valuable addition to the Warriors' bench at some point, whether that's in the near future or further down the line.
