Report: Former Aggie Sam Merrill To Sign 10-Day Contract With Cleveland Cavaliers

Mar 1, 2023, 7:48 PM | Updated: 7:51 pm

KSL Sports

LOGAN, Utah – Former Utah State guard Sam Merrill has reportedly found his next NBA home, signing a ten-day contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Shams Charania first reported the signing on Twitter on Wednesday, March 1.

The Cleveland Cavaliers are planning to sign guard Sam Merrill to a 10-day contract out of their NBA G League Charge affiliate, sources tell me and @kelseyyrusso.

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) March 1, 2023

Merrill played 18 games for the Cleveland Charge. Cleveland selected Merrill first overall in the G-League draft last October after he was one of the Sacramento Kings final training camp cuts.

The former Aggie played 33.8 minutes per game, averaging 16.4 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 2.8 assists per game. On February 22, Merrill set a Charge franchise record when he made ten threes. He finished with a career-high 32 points in the win.

About Sam Merrill

A three-year varsity letter winner and 2014 Utah 4A MVP, Merrill spent his prep career with the Bountiful Braves. He led Bountiful to the 4A state title as a senior while averaging 15.8 points, 7.4 assists, 4.6 rebounds, and 2.3 steals per game.

What a night for Sam Merrill 🔥

A career-high 3️⃣2️⃣ points and a franchise-record 10 made threes for the @charge in a victory! pic.twitter.com/TNqQZDDq2l

— NBA G League (@nbagleague) February 23, 2023

Merrill joined Utah State in 2016 and set about re-writing the Aggie record books.

One of the best to ever play at USU, Merrill’s name is all over the Aggie basketball record books. He is first in career free throw percentage (.891), and second in career points (2,197), career assists (477), career three-point field goals (319), three-point field goals attempted (759), 10-point games (108), and minutes played (4,360).

His Aggie career ended with Merrill hitting a last-second three-pointer against San Diego State in the 2020 Mountain West conference championship game to clinch a spot in the NCAA Tournament. Unfortunately for Merrill and the Aggies, Covid-19 forced the cancellation of the 2020 season before another game was played.

Merrill was drafted by the Milwaukee Bucks with the 60th pick of the 2020 NBA draft and ended up winning a title with the Bucks during his rookie season.

A 6-4 guard, Merrill was acquired via trade by the Memphis Grizzlies from the Bucks on August 7, 2021. He had played in six games for the Grizzlies before being waived, averaging 4.2 points and 1.2 rebounds in 9.7 minutes per game.

Merrill was cut by the Sacramento Kings in October after failing to make their regular-season roster out of training camp.