It may be hard to recall Sam Merrill's face on the Milwaukee Bucks' championship team. Monday night in Cleveland, he wasted no time reminding his old team what he has become, pouring in 20 points on just 10 shots, including six made 3-pointers.
Four seasons after being traded away, the one-time Bucks rookie is one of the league's premier marksmen. As far as role player revenge games go, he served up a doozy.
Former Bucks trade chip put his mark on Cavs' win
Merrill has always been an elite shooter. Even as a little-used rookie in 2020-21, he went 21-for-47 from distance. In four years at Utah State, he shot 42 percent on over 300 makes. Merrill went from being the last pick in the 2020 draft to winning a chip with the Bucks.
Not a month later, they shipped him to Memphis for Grayson Allen. Now Allen is balling out for Phoenix, and Merrill himself is torching nylon. It's all water under the bridge by now, but the Milwaukee Bucks didn't know what a weapon Merrill would be when they traded him.
Needless to say, it's worked out for the Cavaliers. Merrill characteristically caught fire again on Monday, drilling two-thirds of his shots beyond the arc. That included 3-of-4 in the fourth quarter, stifling Milwaukee's attempts to mount a comeback. Every time they gained an ounce of momentum, Merrill doused the spark with a long-range splash. Each of his makes in the final period extended a two-possession Cavaliers lead to three.
With his impossibly quick release time, many of his teammates' passes hardly grazed his fingertips before he sent the ball arcing into the net. Merrill has gone from Finals cheerleader for the Bucks to a master of his craft.
The 2025-26 season has the makings of a breakout campaign for the former 60th overall pick. After the 118-106 win over the Bucks, Merrill is up to 13.9 points per game and ranks 11th in made 3-pointers with 44 this season (ironically, Allen is tied for second). Of those ahead of Merrill, only four average more than his 3.7 makes per game.
Those numbers reflect his growth from a mere rotation piece to a key contributor and starting-caliber wing. While upping his efficiency, he has nearly doubled his volume production from last season. Merrill's 44.4 clip from deep would be a career-best since that cup of coffee in Milwaukee.
The Bucks may not have foreseen his value, but the Cavaliers made sure to cash in by giving him a four-year, $38 million contract this offseason. That investment has paid immediate dividends.
The Bucks, of course, are happy with their resident sniper AJ Green. After signing an extension a few months after Merrill re-signed with Cleveland, Green is having a productive year himself, tied for seventh in made 3-pointers (3.1 per game).
All the same, Merrill has had the better year thus far and outperformed Green last game. If the Bucks weren't paying attention, he made sure they got the message: "Shouldn't have traded me!"