Mavericks would be sabotaging their future if these free agency rumors are true

Ever since Kyrie Irving went down with a torn ACL on March 3, the impetus for the Dallas Mavericks to add a stopgap guard into their lineup has never been higher, even though former two-way contract standout Brandon Williams proved to be a legitimate rotation piece for Dallas to close the season and is projected to be that once again next season.

Williams can't carry the bulk of the shot-creation duties on his own throughout an entire contest, though, at least during this juncture of his career, unless he takes another major leap next season. With Spencer Dinwiddie and Dante Exum both slated to be unrestricted free agents this summer, the only other guard on Dallas' roster will be Jaden Hardy, which presents an issue considering Hardy has barely shown any improvement through three seasons in the league thus far.

Dallas may have enough shot creation to sneak by some teams if both Hardy and Williams have it going from the field, but they don't have near enough aggregate shot creation without Irving's presence. With that being said, the Mavericks will be looking to add another starting-level guard this offseason via trade or free agency, and recent rumors indicate Dallas would have interest in Cleveland Cavaliers guard Ty Jerome if they opt to go the free agency route.

Jerome would fall short as the reliable stopgap guard the Mavs need

Jerome had a career season for the Cavaliers last year, averaging 12.5 points, 3.4 assists, and 1.1 steals per game with 51.6/43.9/87.2 shooting splits. Entering unrestricted free agency this summer, Jerome will likely be commanding a deal somewhere around the $12-14 million range, as he proved to be an efficient three-level scorer that can play well off the ball last season, but he isn't someone Dallas should be looking at to be a starting-level guard until Irving returns.

Jerome undoubtedly cemented himself as one of the better backup guards in the league last season, but considering that Dallas wants someone who can play complementary to Irving once he returns as well, perhaps Jerome wouldn't be the best fit, considering his defensive inconsistencies. While Jerome is a solid team defender, he lacks the length and foot speed to consistently stay with quicker guards, and this was something that was exposed by the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference Semifinals recently.

Jerome has a very deep bag and is an excellent shooter, but he won't bring enough defense and playmaking to this Mavericks roster for them to hand him a contract in his projected salary range. If Jerome gets less money than projected, perhaps that changes things for the Mavericks, but it would be ill-advised for them to do some insane roster maneuvering to get under the first apron just to sign a guard to the MLE who wouldn't necessarily be the ideal fit next to Irving and is arguably of equal caliber to Williams.

Dallas' best avenue to improving their guard depth would be by consolidating someone from their crowded front-court to find a starting-level playmaker/shot creator, unless they trade off someone in their front-court to regain future/current draft capital and opt to sign that caliber of player in free agency. Adding Cooper Flagg to this roster clearly gives Dallas increased flexibility to pick whichever route suits them and would help them get the best possible guard back, but with Dallas projected to be a second apron team unless future cap gymnastics come into play, a player of Jerome's skillset isn't worth it for the Mavericks at his rumored asking price.