Fifth-year guard Sam Merrill snapped out of his season-long shooting slump on Monday as the Cavaliers defeated Utah, writes Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com (subscription required).
Merrill, who grew up a Jazz fan in Bountiful, Utah, near Salt Lake City, notched a season-high 20 points in the 11-point victory, going 6-of-11 from three-point range while also chipping in four assists and three steals in 24 minutes.
A former second-round pick (No. 60 overall in 2020), Merrill has been a rotation mainstay in 2024/25 despite the slump, averaging a career-high 19.9 minutes per contest through 26 games. The 28-year-old has improved defensively and still draws attention with his outside shooting — he’s at 38.4% for his career from beyond the arc, though he has only made 34.0% this season.
Merrill will be an unrestricted free agent next summer if he doesn’t sign a veteran extension, which he’s eligible for through June 30.
Here’s more from around the Eastern Conference:
- The Bulls have been prominently mentioned in trade rumors this season, but have yet to make a deal. Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times takes stock of where things currently stand for veterans Zach LaVine, Nikola Vucevic and Lonzo Ball, writing that the Bulls would prefer to make moves “sooner rather than later” with the trade deadline set for Feb. 6.
- Star forward Jimmy Butler, who prefers a trade out of Miami but hasn’t formally requested to be dealt, is doubtful for Thursday’s contest in Orlando with what the Heat are calling “return to competition; reconditioning,” tweets Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. A person with knowledge of the situation insisted to Jackson that Butler has been “genuinely sick” of late, causing him to miss most of the past three games, and that his absences have nothing to do with a potential trade. According to Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald (Twitter link), Butler didn’t travel with the Heat to Orlando, but there’s still a chance he could make the short flight north if he’s feeling better.
- Although Shams Charania of ESPN reported that multiple teams have been in touch with the Heat to express interest in Butler, it’s unclear if Miami has actually received a formal trade offer, according to Jackson and Chiang. Neither the Heat nor Butler’s camp have denied that he’s unhappy, but he’s also not “simmering with rage” about the situation, as Jackson puts it (Twitter link).
Butler to the SuperSonics, book it.
Bam to Denver…
How exactly did he grow a Jazz fan? Was it a complicated hydroponic set up or all natural?
Hard to see Jimmy leaving Miami. I don’t see who can pay him more. At this point in his career . He is not a max player at this point. Even though he’s at his career numbers 18.6 pts, 4.9 ast, 5.8 reb. At 35 yrs old. He has to take less than max.
3yrs 110 mill. 40 mill, 36 mill, third yr 34 mill.
At 35, this would have to be a push all the chips in approach. What team with a chip window closing in the next couple of years would try? The media is selling ads and I don’t think it will happen. Butler will probably sign another 3 year deal in Miami during the offseason.
Like I said, ESPN is jamming these story lines down everyone’s throats ……. they’ve been milking the Lebron, Steph, KD arcs for years – need to doctor up some new storylines once in a while.