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Sam Merrill

Cleveland Cavaliers · #5 · Starter
SG6'4"205 lbage 306 yrs expUtah StateBountiful, UT
5th best of 9 on CLEworth +2.0 wins to the rotation
OFF81DEF67
Elite interior finisher & shooter
CLE
Cleveland Cavaliers
Eastern · Central · proj. 52-30 (▼4.2)
→

A knockdown specialist who's become a rotation staple on the strength of one elite skill — 42.1% from three (90th-percentile shooting) on a gorgeous 64.4% true shooting, with the league's most secure hands (96th-percentile ball security). At 12.8 points a night he's score-from-spacing only; the rebounding and defense are minimal, but the jumper is real money.

12.8
PPG
2.6
RPG
2.4
APG
0.6
SPG
0.1
BPG
GP 52MPG 26.5FG% 46.13P% 42.1FT% 85.5TS% 64.4USG% 17PER 13.6BPM +0.1VORP 0.7EPM +0.8
2025-26 regular season · bars are percentile at his position

NBA player ratings

0–99 · 2025-26 form
Inside finishing94
Shooting91
Scoring89
Playmaking78
Perimeter defense61
Rebounding58
Rim protection58

Skill ratings are 2025-26 per-game and advanced stats (Basketball-Reference) ranked 0–99 within position (guards vs guards, bigs vs bigs). Overall is anchored to EPM impact on a non-linear curve, nudged by these skills; Offense and Defense come from box plus-minus. A player who missed the latest season is shown from his most recent one.

Career

2020-21 to 2025-26 · 6 seasons
8.0
PPG
2.0
RPG
1.6
APG
225
GAMES
Points 1,796Win Shares 10.5Starts 45Best season 2025-26 · 12.8 ppg
Games played, last three seasons75%

Regular season, 2003-04 onward (Basketball-Reference). Averages are weighted by games played; honours count awards won, not finishes. “Current players” means the 802 who played in the last three seasons.

Trajectory

2023-24 → 2025-26 · age 27 → 29
▬Steady

Sam, at 29, has held steady — 2.5 → 2.5 wins of value over the window.

Age curve▬ On curve
Declining about on schedule for his age.
2026-27 forecast▲ 3.8 wins (+1.3)
Assumes a normal season; he played 52 games last year. Age takes about 0.3 wins off at 30. Range 2.9–4.7 wins.
Production (BPM)+0.5 → +0.1-0.426-27 forecast +0.0
His production has held roughly steady.
2023-24: +0.5 · 61 games2024-25: +0.3 · 71 games2025-26: +0.1 · 52 games2026-27: +0.0 (forecast)23-2425-2626-27
Value to team (wins)2.5 → 2.5+0.026-27 forecast 3.8
His value to a team has been stable.
2023-24: 2.5 · 61 games2024-25: 2.7 · 71 games2025-26: 2.5 · 52 games2026-27: 3.8 (forecast)23-2425-2626-27
Contract value2026-27: worth $9.5M vs $9.2M salary+$0.3M
He is paid about what his play is projected to be worth.
$9.2M salary2023-24: $5.4M · 61 games2024-25: $5.9M · 71 games2025-26: $5.4M · 52 games2026-27: $9.5M (forecast)23-2425-2626-27
Current deal: $9,160,715 cap hit · through '29. On the contract row the flat dashed line is this salary, so the gap to the 2026-27 forecast is the surplus.

Seasons from Basketball-Reference (2023-24 → 2025-26). Production is box plus-minus, a per-possession measure. Value is VORP-based wins, so it also counts games played. Contract value is what each season’s play would fetch on the open market. The dotted 2026-27 point is a forecast: his established level, a year older, assuming a normal season.

Contract

2026-27
$9,160,715Guaranteed
4% of the club’s payroll · 6th of 13 priced deals
Runs through3 seasons
Est. market value$9,508,000 /yr
Surplus+$347,285
FAIR VALUEpaid about what he is worth

Market value is an estimate, not a reported figure: what his play is forecast to fetch on the open market in 2026-27 — his current rating, a year older. Cap thresholds are projected for 2026-27 until the league sets them.

Plays like

same position

Nearest skill profiles across the seven rating axes — who he plays like, not who is as good. The rating beside each name answers that second question.