Back when the Cleveland Cavaliers parted ways with Kevin Love, it was reported that the team was going to conduct a wide search for a player to fill the vacant roster spot. Now, it looks like that search has concluded.
On Thursday, it was reported that the Cavs are expected to sign G League standout Sam Merrill to a 10-day contract.
“Sources tell cleveland.com the Cavs are expected to sign sharpshooter Sam Merrill — a standout for the team’s G League affiliate Charge — to a 10-day contract on Friday,” Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com reported. “Merrill will take the spot recently vacated by Kevin Love, who agreed to a buyout and joined the Miami Heat a few weeks ago.”
Merrill, 26, has been having an impressive season with the Canton Charge. In 18 games this season, he’s averaging 17.5 points on 46.9 percent shooting from the field and 43.7 percent shooting from deep.
Certainly, his ability to shoot the ball from deep would be a welcome addition to the Cavs roster. Some of the rotational guys that the Cavs need to hit 3-pointers at a consistent clip have been really disappointing as of late.
Within the last four weeks of games, Caris LeVert has hit only 19.2 percent of his 3-pointers. Dean Wade has hit just 29.6 percent from 3 during that time, and Cedi Osman has fared slightly better at 31.1 percent.
If Merrill can come in and hit shots consistently from beyond the arc, he could become a consistent rotational guy from here on out.
Merrill has made a name for himself in the G League this season, but he has also played at the NBA level in his career. He originally entered the league as the final pick in the second round of the 2020 NBA Draft.
Since then, he’s played 36 NBA games, splitting time between the Milwaukee Bucks and Memphis Grizzlies. In those 36 games, he’s averaged 3.2 points in 8.1 minutes per game.
Interestingly, he is an NBA champion already thanks to his work on the Bucks back during the 2020-21 season.
Surely, he will hope to do what he can to help the Cavs reach a similar level of success this season if he is ultimately added to the active roster.
