Sam Merrill agrees to four-year, $38 million contract to stick with Cavaliers

The Cavaliers have locked in one of their backcourt depth pieces for the future.Sam Merrill has agreed to a four-year, $38 million contract to stay in Cleveland, ESPN reported Saturday afternoon.The 60th overall pick of the 2020 draft averaged 7.2 points across 19.7 minutes across a career-high 71 games last season.In the Cavaliers’ run to the Eastern Conference semifinals, he averaged 5.8 points across 19.9 minutes.Merrill has served as a depth piece for the Cavaliers, as he also did during stints with Memphis and Milwaukee, where he was a rookie on the NBA champion Bucks in 2021.Going into his fourth year in Cleveland, the 29-year-old solidified a point guard depth chart that also includes Darius Garland and Lonzo Ball, who was traded by the Bulls to the Cavs in exchange for Isaac Okoro on Saturday.Fellow Cleveland guard Ty Jerome, however, is expected to leave in free agency.Last season, the Cavaliers were one of the top 3-point shooting teams in the NBA.

Merrill shot 37.2 percent from deep on an average of 5.2 attempts per game.He shot 40.4 percent from beyond the arc in 2023-24.In 2023, Merrill joined the Cavaliers on a 10-day contract, which was converted to a guaranteed, multi-year deal that came to an end this summer....