Cavaliers Sign Sam Merrill To Multi-Year Contract
Former No. 1 G League Draft Picks Stays With Cavs
Official Release /March 14, 2023
CLEVELAND – The Cleveland Cavaliers have signed guard Sam Merrill to a multi-year contract, Cavaliers President of Basketball Operations Koby Altman announced today from Cleveland Clinic Courts.
Merrill (6-4, 197) signed a 10-day contract with the team on March 3rd and appeared in one game for the Cavaliers. Prior to joining Cleveland, Merrill appeared in 35 games (34 starts) this season for the Cleveland Charge, the Cavaliers’ exclusively owned and operated NBA G League affiliate, averaging 16.4 points, 3.4 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.1 steals in 33.7 minutes. He scored a season-high 32 points, including a Charge franchise record 10-14 (.714) shooting from the three-point line on February 22 against the Greensboro Swarm.
In 37 career NBA games (two starts) with Milwaukee, Memphis and Cleveland, Merrill has connected on 28-71 (.394) from the three-point arc. During the 2020-21 season, he ended his rookie season as a NBA Champion with the Bucks, where he was teammates with current Cavaliers Two-Way player Mamadi Diakite. Merrill also appeared in five games with the Memphis Hustle (Grizzlies G-League affiliate) with averages of 11.2 points, 4.4 rebounds and 3.4 assists in 28.9 minutes.
Merrill was selected by the New Orleans Pelicans as the 60th overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft after a four-year collegiate career at Utah State University. He was a two-time All-Mountain West First Team selection (2019 & 2020) and named Mountain West Player of the Year in 2019.