Cleveland Locks Up Sam Merrill With Long-Term Deal

The Cleveland Cavalier sign Sam Merrill to a multi-year contract.

Tommy Wild | Mar 14, 2023

Cleveland Locks Up Sam Merrill With Long-Term Deal /

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The Cleveland Cavaliers made a surprising move on Tuesday afternoon when they announced that they had signed Sam Merrill to a multi-year contract.

Merrill signed a 10-day contract just over a week ago and that was set to expire on Tuesday. Instead of signing the sharpshooter to another short-term contract, they went the route of signing him for multiple seasons.

The deal is over three years with two of them being guaranteed.

I can't say I saw this one coming.

Merrill has played a full four minutes and 17 seconds in a Cavs uniform. This came in Cleveland's blowout win over the Detroit Pistons on March 4. In that limited playing time, he scored two points and missed the only three pointer he attempted.

Mar 4, 2023; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Sam Merrill (5) kneels on the south in the fourth quarter against the Detroit Pistons at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

Even though he hasn't yet shown his value to the Cavs on the floor, we do know that he's a solid player who can shoot the lights out. Merrill shot 46.9 percent from the field and 43.7 percent from three while averaging 16.4 points per game for the Cavaliers' G-League affiliate, the Cleveland Charge.

Merrill was the 60th pick in the second round of the 2020 draft and went to the New Orleans Pelicans. He was even on the roster that won the 2021 NBA Finals. Did someone say championship DNA?!

He then went on to appear in six games for the Memphis Grizzlies in 2021, before finding himself in Cleveland's organization over the offseason.

Shooting is definitely something that the Cavs could use more of, just like every other NBA team. Perhaps Merrill can be the diamond in the ruff and turn into a vital piece to the rotation.

Time will tell.

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