“I swear this crap is as fun as it looks” — Memphis Grizzlies general manager Zach Kleiman, after ESPN NBA insider Shams Charania posted or reposted Grizzlies news eight times in the first one hour and eight minutes of free agency Monday night. 

OK, fine. Zach Kleiman didn’t say that. 

Grizzlies sign free agent guard Ty Jerome

Ty Jerome did, on Instagram, as the Cleveland Cavaliers were rolling into the NBA playoffs in April. 

Still, the phrase applies.

In the grand finale of free agency fireworks Monday, the Grizzlies and Jerome agreed to a three-year, $28 million contract.

That was just one of a handful of moves the team made: It got a long-term commitment from Jaren Jackson Jr., brought back Santi Aldama and added Cam Spencer to the main roster too. 

But the Jerome deal felt different, if only because it was the first significant outside free agent with whom the franchise has come to terms since 2019. 

Whom did the Grizzlies bring in that offseason? 

Tyus Jones. At the time, Jones was a high-efficiency guard who won a national championship in college at Duke.

Hmmm. 

My favorite comp after digging into Ty Jerome: Tyus Jones

National champion PGs. Same standing reach. 95% similar combine testing results according to @NBAthletedotcom.
Very similar per 40 numbers (Ty more of a volume shooter, Tyus better getting to the line). High AST:TO ratio. pic.twitter.com/4rzk1QRb3a

— mike nothum (@mikenothum) June 23, 2019

Anyway, by adding Jerome, the Grizzlies were able to address a clear need for shooting and bolster the backcourt for a few seasons. 

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That became a priority after the team traded away star guard Desmond Bane to the Orlando Magic for draft assets (part of which turned into No. 11 draft pick Cedric Coward), Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Cole Anthony. 

Anthony, though, is on his way out of town to create cap space for a substantial Jackson raise and extension. 

Outside of another trade, or a minimum contract signing, that will be it for the Grizzlies this summer. 

You may now begin to ask the question: Did Memphis get better this offseason?

The answer very well could be no. It (mostly) got younger, and it added tradable contracts. Even Kleiman acknowledged the risk of adding an unproven piece like Coward as Bane went out the door. 

The general manager said he foresaw a “higher end” outcome in the long run as a possibility. 

Perhaps that’s what Kleiman sees in Jerome, too. 

The 6-foot-5, 27-year-old guard bounced around to four NBA teams over six seasons before eventually landing with team No. 5 — Memphis. 

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Last season was a clear breakthrough for Jerome, who set career highs in points, 3-point percentage and steals over 70 games with Cleveland, which finished the regular season atop the Eastern Conference. 

To the eye, the box score averages may seem like nothing special (12.5 points, 3.4 assists, 2.5 rebounds). The advanced numbers, however, show why Jerome reportedly had several teams vying for his services. 

Player comparison

Here are some advanced numbers for two players last season, whom we will call Player A and Player B for now.

The percentages in parenthesis signify what percentile they rank among all shooting guards in the NBA. 

Let’s start with offense. 

Additionally, Player A had a true shooting percentage 15.4% higher than league average on spacing opportunities (spot-ups, handoffs and off screens). Player B shot 5.2% above league average on those plays. 

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Player A shot 7.8% above league average in creation opportunities (isolation, pick-and-roll ball handler and post-ups). Player B shot 1% below league average. 

Now defense: 

Additionally, Player A forced 0.8 more turnovers per 100 possessions than league average. Player B forced 0.1 fewer turnovers per 100 possessions than league average. 

By now you might have figured it out.

Player A is Ty Jerome and Player B is Desmond Bane. 

Are these statistics supposed to convince you that Jerome is the better player of the two?

Heck no. That’s not what is being suggested here.

Bane has been better for much longer, in a bigger role, and he has a strength and athleticism advantage.

What the numbers should show you, though, is that Jerome — in a lesser role — was highly effective (if not a little better) in a lot of the same areas as Bane last season.

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If you want to view the glass half-full, go ahead. The numbers are right there.

Jerome’s fit

Some may question if Jerome aligns with Kleiman’s search for “dogs” this offseason, and that is fair given the guard’s defensive shortcomings. 

He’s not the type that will move opponents off their spot, and he fouled shooters too often last season. 

But that shouldn’t automatically mean he is a bad fit for the roster. 

In fact, Jerome does possess one defensive skill the Grizzlies really lacked a season ago: disruption. 

His steals and deflections percentages rank towards the top of the league. Scotty Pippen Jr. was the only Memphis player with a higher steal percentage than Jerome last season. 

If Memphis wants to continue playing at a quick pace, it’s easier to do so when getting buckets in transition generated by defense. 

Offensively, Jerome’s fit can be found without much searching. 

He played 76% of his minutes at shooting guard and 14% of his minutes at point guard last season, according to Cleaning the Glass. 

Jerome’s point guard minutes went extremely well for Cleveland. When he had the ball in his hands, the Cavs scored a whopping 133.5 points per 100 possessions.

Perhaps more importantly, Cleveland only turned the ball over 12% of the time with Jerome running the offense.

For context, Memphis turned the ball over on 17.7% of possessions in Bane’s point guard minutes and 15.6% of the time with Pippen at point guard. 

Jerome feels like a more natural fit to fill minutes at the position when superstar Ja Morant is unavailable. His presence may be especially helpful to Pippen, who played more effectively off the ball as a secondary guard anyway. 

Need more proof that this partnership can work?

Jerome’s shot profile is almost identical to Memphis’ as a team. 

Last season, no team attempted a higher frequency of short mid-range shots than the Grizzlies (29.2% of all shots).

What does Jerome do? He gets to the short mid-range areas.

He attempted 30% of his shots from the short mid-range area, while 43% of his shots came from 3. 

Back in blue

In Jerome, the Grizzlies are hoping last season was a breakthrough and not a blip. 

He may not be Bane, but the free agent addition has a chance to make a real impact on his new team. 

Can Jerome replicate the same kind of production used to torch Memphis last season when he scored 26 points on Feb. 23?

Here’s to hoping that performance was as easy as it looked.