Milwaukee Bucks: How Jordan Nwora and Sam Merrill fit into the rotation

Looking at how Sam Merrill fits with the Milwaukee Bucks

He may be ‘Mr. Irrelevant’ as the last pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, but Sam Merrill is certainly relevant in the eyes of the Bucks as they look to shore up their needs this offseason.

Having spent his time at Utah State where he won a number of different accolades over his collegiate career including two Mountain West first selections and being the Mountain West Player of the Year for 2018-19, Merrill brings a much-needed dose of shooting and on-ball shot creation.

The 24-year-old is coming off a 2019-20 season in which he averaged 19.7 points on a .461/.410/.893 slash line, 41. rebounds, 3.9 assists and 0.9 steals, and had been named the MVP of the Mountain West Tournament just before the season shutdown.

Based on that production and the skill set he provides, ESPN’s Mike Schmitz was the first to jokingly coin that he’s been referred to as the Luka Doncic of the Mountain West, due to Merrill’s mix of shooting, playmaking and cerebral nature.

But it’s quite a big leap to go from the Mountain West to the NBA and the biggest questions that the 6’5″ Merrill will have to prove is whether he can keep up on the defensive end, given his athletic limitations. That especially hinders his ability to defend on the ball or go through ball screens where Merrill’s plodding mobility is a severe obstacle in being able to see the floor under Mike Budenholzer.

Where Merrill does excel is as a shooter, whether it’s with the ball in his hands, off the catch or moving off of screens, all of which fits right into the Bucks’ let it fly philosophy to keep open the paint around Giannis Antetokounmpo. Merrill’s career 89.1 free throw percentage indicates how just valuable his shooting potential can be at the next level and that’s only backed up by the dynamic ways he’s able to hit from 3-point range.

As intriguing as his scoring and shooting abilities are within the Bucks’ foundation, Merril’s feel for the game and playmaking prowess is another asset in their favor. The fact that he’s as good of a decision maker in such situations, as evidenced by his 2.29 assist-to-turnover ratio in college, could provide the Bucks some more secondary playmaking around their cornerstones.

Merrill knows, though, that a role is far from guaranteed going into next season with their hopes for an NBA title at an all-time high as he recently talked about with Jeff Hunter of the Deseret News:

"“They’re a team that’s contending for a title. That’s what their goal is going to be, so I’m excited to join that. Hopefully I’ll get an opportunity to try and earn some minutes, but more than anything I want to help that team win a championship.”"

Between Nwora and Merrill, the Bucks got a pair of experienced and dangerous shooters that could bring more 3-point firepower to their offense. To get on the court, though, requires both rookies to shore up their deficiencies as Milwaukee looks to improve upon their depth from last season’s collapse.