Arguably the most important signing the Cleveland Cavaliers have made up to this point in free agency was to re-sign sharpshooter Sam Merrill after he was a linchpin to the team’s highly successful bench unit last season.
A career 38.6 percent 3-point shooter, Merrill and the Cavaliers agreed to terms on a four-year, $38 million deal late last month.
Guard Donovan Mitchell said that he reached out to Merrill after the sharpshooter signed a lengthy extension with the team. He also said that Merrill deserved the lucrative contract and that even though Merrill is a Mormon, he should celebrate with a shot.
“I called him immediately after he signed,” Mitchell told Cleveland.com. “I was happy for him. He deserves it. To see the evolution into what he has become, it’s big time. He has been through so much and to see him continue to take the steps and be rewarded for all that hard work, it’s special.
“I know he is Mormon and doesn’t drink but this is the time he needs to take a shot or something to celebrate.”
Merrill came off the bench in all but four of the 71 games he appeared in with the Cavaliers a season ago and averaged 7.2 points per game while shooting 37.2 percent from deep. He averaged a career-high 19.7 minutes of playing time per contest to boot.
It took some time for Merrill to cement himself as a legitimate rotation player at the highest level, as the No. 60 overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft appeared in just 41 games across his first three seasons in the league combined.
Merrill proved that he truly belonged in the NBA in his fourth season, and now that he’s had back-to-back successful campaigns in a bench role and signed a new deal, he might have found his long-term home with the Cavaliers.
Cavaliers fans are likely hoping that Merrill can take a step forward as a player in the 2025-26 season considering the team lost an elite bench player in free agency. Guard Ty Jerome signed with the Memphis Grizzlies after he was one of the finalists to win the Sixth Man of the Year award in the 2024-25 season.
Hopefully, Merrill will help soften the blow of losing a talented scorer of Jerome’s caliber with his ability to space the floor. Cavs fans would love it if Merrill went on to have a career year in his sixth season in the NBA.
It should be interesting to see how motivated Merrill will be to continue to improve his game now that he’s earned a large contract.