Milwaukee Bucks 2020 NBA Draft: Selects Sam Merrill 60th overall

With the final pick of the 2020 NBA Draft, the Milwaukee Bucks selected sharpshooter Sam Merrill out of Utah State 60th overall.

The Milwaukee Bucks were merely spectators throughout the first round of the 2020 NBA Draft after having sent their pick to New Orleans in the Jrue Holiday trade.

In return, they received two second round picks, the first slated at 45th overall and the second being 60th. My colleague and fellow site co-expert Jordan Treske did a fantastic job detailing Milwaukee’s 45th pick, Jordan Nwora, but how should fans feel about their latter selection, Utah State senior Sam Merrill?

Sam Merrill’s highly decorated resume makes him an intriguing pick at No. 60 overall for the Milwaukee Bucks, but where does his style of play fit with the team?

Perhaps no one better detailed it than Merrill him, as he previously described the type of role he envisioned for himself in the NBA to Sporting News’ Mike Decourcy, saying:

"“The value of shooting is as high as it’s ever been,” Merrill told Sporting News. “You need guys that can stretch the floor and open things up for your stars. That’s one thing that hopefully would give me an opportunity.”"

Well, it would appear that the Bucks will give him that opportunity, and it is going to be for the very reason he suggests. As Decourcy pointed out in his piece, Merrill is one of the better shooters in this draft class:

"“If all this were about shooting, and shooting only, they’d be talking about Merrill as a likely lottery pick.”"

The first thing that stands out with Merrill is undoubtedly his prolific 3-point shooting. Over his four years at Utah State, Merrill finished with a career 42 3-point percentage on 759 attempts from behind the arc. Those floor spacing capabilities made the guard a lethal scoring, having accumulated a 16.6 points per game mark over that same span. All in all, the 24-year-old averaged 16.6 points on .470/.420/.891 shooting splits, 3.6 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 1.0 steals per contest across his 132 collegiate games.

Milwaukee thrives off the success of the shooters surrounding Giannis Antetokounmpo, and a stellar floor spacer like Merrill could undoubtedly spark some offense from the perimeter. With Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer giving him the green light to “let it fly” from downtown nightly, Merrill should certainly be excited to play in this trigger happy offense next season.

Next. Milwaukee Bucks: Grades and reactions from Jrue Holiday trade. dark

While the final pick in the draft is commonly known as “Mr. Irrelevant,” it appears that Sam Merrill is ready to take on a supporting role with the Milwaukee Bucks and make himself a household name sooner rather than later.

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Milwaukee Bucks 2020 NBA Draft: Selects Sam Merrill with 60th overall pick

By Dalton Sell | Nov 19, 2020

With the final pick of the 2020 NBA Draft, the Milwaukee Bucks selected sharpshooter Sam Merrill out of Utah State 60th overall.

Sam Merrill’s highly decorated resume makes him an intriguing pick at No. 60 overall for the Milwaukee Bucks, but where does his style of play fit with the team?