Report: Ty Jerome, Sam Merrill, Dean Wade May Not Be Back With Cavaliers

June 9, 2025

According to Matt Moore of Hardwood Paroxysm, Ty Jerome, Sam Merrill and Dean Wade may not be back with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Jerome and Merrill become unrestricted free agents this offseason, while Wade will make $6,623,456 next season in the final year of his contract.

It sounds like Moore is hearing that Wade could be traded.

“It’s sounding like the Cavs’ bench is going to be pretty dramatically different with Dean Wade, Sam Merrill, and Ty Jerome all potentially not being brought back,” Moore wrote.

By winning Defensive Player of the Year this season, Cavaliers star big man Evan Mobley triggered a clause in his contract that calls for him to increase the first-year salary of his rookie-scale extension from 25% to 30% of the salary cap.

As a result, the Cavaliers are now projected to have $219 million in salary for the 2025-26 season and be over the second apron.

The Cavaliers won 64 games this season. They were first in the NBA in points per game and offensive rating and Kenny Atkinson won the Coach of the Year Award.

After sweeping the Miami Heat in the first round of the playoffs, it appeared Cleveland was well on its way to competing for the championship.

However, the Indiana Pacers humbled the Cavaliers in the second round, winning that series in five quick games.

According to Brian Windhorst of ESPN, the Cavaliers “are active in trade talks.” It will be fascinating to see what Koby Altman does this offseason.

In other Cavaliers news, All-Star point guard Darius Garland had surgery Monday to repair the left big toe injury that troubled him during the 2025 playoffs and is expected to miss four to five months.

According to Joe Vardon of The Athletic, Garland could miss the Cavaliers’ first 10 games of next season.

“Cleveland Cavaliers guard Darius Garland underwent successful surgery today to repair his great toe injury,” the Cavaliers said in a statement. “The procedure was performed by Dr. Nicholas Strasser at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, in consultation with Cavaliers team doctor, Dr. James Rosneck (Cleveland Clinic Sports Medicine), and Dr. Bob Anderson (OrthoCarolina).”