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Central Notes: Merrill, Stewart, Duren, Williams, Jones

October 22nd, 2022 at 11:45am CST by Dana Gauruder

The Cleveland Charge, the Cavaliers’ affiliate, hold the top pick in the upcoming NBA G League draft and guard Sam Merrill could be the top pick, Marc Stein tweets. Merrill was waived late in training camp by the Kings. He played six games for Memphis last season and 30 for Milwaukee the previous year.

We have more from the Central Division:

  • Pistons big man Isaiah Stewart is only 21, but he’s become a mentor to the youngest player in the league, Jalen Duren, according to James Edwards III of The Athletic. It doesn’t bother Stewart that Duren might cut into his playing time. “I know this is a league where you’re fighting for positions and minutes, but that’s not something I’m worried about,” Stewart said. “I know what’s most important is being there for the young fella. I’m there for him, whatever he needs. Sometimes I’ll just start talking to him just because. I know you’re a rook, first year.’ I want him to feel and know that I’m here for him on a positive note.”
  • After missing most of last season due to injury, Bulls forward Patrick Williams is struggling through the early portion of this season, Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun Times writes. Williams is trying to determine how he can make the biggest impact for his teammates. “I’ve been talking to them about it and trying to figure it out,” he said. “I’m totally confident we will. Specifically, because of the player I know I am.”
  • The Bulls waived guard Carlik Jones last week but they still want him in the organization. Their G League affiliate, the Windy City Bulls, acquired his returning player rights in a three-team trade, according to a press release.
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Cole, Wieskamp Headline G League Draft Pool

October 22nd, 2022 at 8:33am CST by Dana Gauruder

Norris Cole and Joe Wieskamp are among 128 players who are eligible for the annual NBA G League draft, which will take place on Saturday at 1 p.m.

Cole, 34, played for Miami, New Orleans and Oklahoma City during his NBA career, which spanned 2011-17. He’s played for a variety of European teams since, most recently JL Bourg in France. He also played for Team USA this summer.

Wieskamp was waived by the Spurs on Monday. Wieskamp, 23, was drafted 41st overall in 2021 by the Spurs and spent most of his rookie season on a two-way contract with the team. He was converted to a rest-of-season standard contract in March, then re-signed with San Antonio in August on a two-year deal that includes a guaranteed $2.175MM salary for 2022/23.

Jared Rhoden, who was waived by both the Trail Blazers and Hawks this preseason, is another prominent name on the list.

Here is the full list of players eligible to be drafted, as provided by a G League press release:

Name (Position, School)

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Kings Waive Sam Merrill, Set Roster For Season

October 15th, 2022 at 4:15pm CST by Luke Adams

Veteran guard Matthew Dellavedova and forwards KZ Okpala and Chima Moneke have claimed the final three spots on the Kings‘ 15-man roster to open the regular season, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).

Veteran wing Sam Merrill had also been vying for a regular season roster spot, but the Kings have opted to waive him, as Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee tweets.

The team also cut Jeriah Horne and Alex O’Connell, per James Ham of ESPN 1320 Sacramento (Twitter link), who says the plan is for both players to join the Stockton Kings, Sacramento’s G League affiliate.

Okpala earned some starts at power forward for Sacramento this preseason and always seemed like a safe bet to make the roster. Dellavedova, meanwhile, looked like a logical keeper after the team waived another veteran point guard, Quinn Cook. Moneke has spent the last several years playing in international leagues and will be getting his first shot in the NBA as a 26-year-old rookie.

Okpala and Moneke currently have partial guarantees worth $250K and will earn another $250K if they remain on the roster through Wednesday. Dellavedova is on a non-guaranteed contract and will also get $250K for sticking through Wednesday.

Merrill’s contract included a $150K partial guarantee. The Kings will be on the hook for that amount unless he’s claimed on waivers on Monday.

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California Notes: Kings, Robinson, Warriors, Lakers

September 8th, 2022 at 5:49pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

While Kings point guard De’Aaron Fox is clearly locked in as the team’s starter at that position, the identity of his backcourt cohort is a bit up in the air. James Ham of The Kings Beat takes stock of the team’s options at shooting guard.

Ham identifies 6’7″ sharpshooter Kevin Huerter, acquired in a trade with the Hawks over the summer, as the option that makes the most sense fit-wise, but notes that free agent signing Malik Monk could get significant consideration as well. Inconsistent wing Terence Davis should get some run in the rotation, while Ham also examines the upside of young swingmen Sam Merrill and Keon Ellis.

There’s more out of California:

  • Shooting guard Jerome Robinson faces an uphill battle when it comes to making the Warriors‘ regular season roster. C.J. Holmes of the San Francisco Chronicle details how the 25-year-old will need to prove his mettle in training camp. In his 2021/22 campaign with Golden State’s G League affiliate, the Santa Cruz Warriors, the former lottery pick recorded averages of 20.2 PPG, 4.1 RPG and 3.8 APG in 22 games. Holmes writes that the team may be prioritizing a point guard or more size with the final one or two spots on its standard 15-man roster.
  • The Warriors seem fully capable of mounting a solid title defense this season, HoopsHype’s Yossi Gozlan opines in a fresh season preview. Gozlan posits that Golden State’s excellent two-way play and deep roster of veterans, mixed with some intriguing youth, should make the team a formidable threat in the Western Conference.,
  • On a recent episode of his podcast The Hoop Collective, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst reports that the Lakers were never involved in three-team trade talks between the Jazz and Knicks in a potential trade to send Donovan Mitchell to New York. The three-time All-Star was eventually dealt to the Cavaliers instead in a two-team deal. Windhorst adds that the Lakers appear to think that there is no deal for $47MM+ point guard Russell Westbrook, even with their tantalizing 2027 and 2029 first-round picks included, that will significantly upgrade their roster.
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Western Notes: Merrill, J. Hall, Micic, Suns

August 15th, 2022 at 3:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Sam Merrill‘s new two-year contract with the Kings is, as expected, worth the veteran’s minimum. Merrill received a $150K partial guarantee for the 2022/23 season, Hoops Rumors has learned.

Merrill’s full minimum salary for ’22/23 would become guaranteed if he remains under contract through the league-wide guarantee deadline in January. If the Kings forward plays out the full first year of his deal, his second-year minimum salary would become guaranteed on June 29, 2023.

Here’s more from around the Western Conference:

  • Jordan Hall‘s two-way contract with the Spurs covers two seasons, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link). Hall is one of four players this offseason to have signed a multiyear two-way deal.
  • While there was a sense the asking price could have been brought down, the Thunder were believed to be seeking a first-round pick for Vasilije Micic‘s NBA rights before he decided to remain with Anadolu Efes, according to Sean Deveney of Heavy.com. “I think that was where it was a little too much for teams,” one Western Conference executive told Deveney. “No one wanted to give up a pick plus everything else it would take. The guy can play, I think he’d be good in the NBA. But no one wanted to give up picks and money for him.” Deveney suggests Micic would’ve sought a salary in the $6-7MM range and a sizable rotation role in order to make the move to the NBA.
  • Former Suns head of basketball operations Jerry Colangelo said he’d “love to see” Kevin Durant land in Phoenix, according to Doug Haller of The Athletic, who draws parallels between a possible Durant acquisition and Colangelo’s trade that brought Charles Barkley to the Suns back in 1992.
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Western Notes: Barton, Merrill, Kings, Thunder

August 13th, 2022 at 3:32pm CST by JD Shaw

New Wizards swingman Will Barton was somewhat shocked when he got traded out of Denver this offseason, he told Mike Singer of the Denver Post. The Nuggets dealt Barton and Monte Morris to Washington in exchange for Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Ish Smith last month.

“It was just like a shock, but not too much of a shock,” Barton said when asked about the trade. “It was a shock in that, obviously, I had been there eight years, did so much there together, so it’s always shocking when you’ve been somewhere for so long and you’re moving on. But, at the same time, I embraced it, I’m welcoming a new chapter.”

Barton is expected to compete for a starting role with the Wizards, who finished just 35-47 last season. As Singer details, the veteran wing, who spent seven-and-a-half seasons with the Nuggets, is hoping to help his new team go from the lottery to the playoffs, like he did in Denver. When Barton joined the Nuggets, they were in the midst of a 30-52 season, but he left a team that looks like a legitimate contender.

“Just turning that whole thing around, that’s the biggest thing,” Barton said. “I came (to Denver), we were not good. We did not have a good culture. To see where it is now, and know that I played a heavy role in that, can’t be more rewarding. That’s the greatest achievement for me when I look back at it.”

Here are some other notes from the Western Conference:

  • Jason Anderson of the Sacramento Bee examines whether Sam Merrill will fit into the Kings’ plans once training camp begins on September 27. Merrill reportedly agreed to a two-year, partially guaranteed deal with the team. He’ll compete for a roster spot in camp.
  • Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman examines multiple Thunder-related topics in his mailbag, including notes related to Chet Holmgren and which players he’d protect in a hypothetical expansion draft. Oklahoma City is continuing a full-scale rebuild, having finished just 24-58 last season.
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Kings Sign Sam Merrill

August 12th, 2022 at 9:00pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

9:00pm: The signing is now official, according to NBA.com’s transactions log.

4:39pm: The Kings are set to sign free agent shooting guard Sam Merrill, per Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link).

Tony Jones of The Athletic reveals (via Twitter) that Merrill is signing a non-guaranteed two-year contract, meaning Merrill will be competing to join the team’s eventual 15-man roster in training camp. Sacramento currently has just 12 players inked to fully guaranteed deals, per our roster tracker.

Earlier this summer, Chima Moneke and Matthew Dellavedova were both also signed to non-guaranteed deals with a chance to make the opening night roster. Moneke’s contract includes a $250K partial guarantee.

The 6’4″ Merrill was selected with the final pick in the 2020 NBA draft out of Utah State by the Pelicans, then was dealt to the Bucks. He played in 30 games for the eventual champs, averaging 3.0 PPG and 1.0 RPG in 7.8 MPG during the regular season. During that rookie season, Merrill connected on 44.4% of his field goal attempts and 44.7% of his 1.6 triples a night.

The Bucks traded him to the Grizzlies during the 2021 offseason. He appeared in just six games for Memphis, averaging 9.7 MPG. The 26-year-old averaged 22.5 PPG, 5.5 APG and 5.5 RPG in two contests for the Grizzlies’ NBAGL affiliate, the Memphis Hustle.

Adding Merrill gives the Kings another potential long-distance shooting option as the team continues to retool its roster around its core of De’Aaron Fox, Domantas Sabonis, Keegan Murray and Davion Mitchell.

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Grizzlies Give Two-Year Deal To Tillie, Waive Merrill, Sign Terry To Two-Way

January 1st, 2022 at 6:30pm CST by Arthur Hill

6:30pm: The moves are official, the Grizzlies announced (Twitter links).

6:10pm: Two-way player Killian Tillie will sign a standard contract with the Grizzlies, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. The second-year big man will get a deal worth $4MM over two years.

Tillie signed a two-way contract after going undrafted out of Gonzaga in 2020, then inked another two-way deal in August. He’s averaging 3.4 points and 1.7 rebounds in 22 games this season, but his playing time has increased recently with the Grizzlies short-handed due to health and safety protocols.

Memphis will open a roster spot by waiving injured guard Sam Merrill, Woj adds (Twitter link). Merrill will undergo a surgical procedure on his left ankle that will keep him out of action for three to four months, sources tell Wojnarowski.

A rookie with the Bucks last year, Merrill was acquired by the Grizzlies in an offseason trade. He only appeared in six games for Memphis, averaging 4.2 PPG in 9.7 minutes per night, and last played on November 18. The move will include a $1.5MM cap hit, according to Bobby Marks of ESPN (Twitter link). Wojnarowski adds that the Grizzlies believe Merrill has potential and may consider bringing him back once he’s healed.

The open two-way slot will be filled by guard Tyrell Terry, who signed as a hardship player last week, adds Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). Terry has made two brief appearances since coming to Memphis, playing a combined three minutes.

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Bucks Acquire Grayson Allen From Grizzlies

August 7th, 2021 at 2:11pm CST by Dana Gauruder

AUGUST 7: The trade is now official, the Grizzlies announced in a press release. While Merrill’s salary for 2021/22 is not yet fully guaranteed, Memphis intends to guarantee his deal and keep him on the roster, reports Tony Jones of The Athletic (Twitter link).

AUGUST 6: The Grizzlies have agreed to deal guard Grayson Allen to the Bucks for guard Sam Merrill and two future second-round picks, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets.

Allen, who is entering his fourth NBA season, had a breakout year for Memphis in which he started 38 of 50 games and averaged 10.6 PPG, 3.2 RPG and 2.2 APG. The former Duke star has knocked down 38.1% of his 3-point attempts during his three-year career and will give the Bucks another perimeter option.

Milwaukee will absorb Allen’s contract using a $4.89MM traded player exception generated by a deal this past winter that sent guard D.J. Augustin to the Rockets, according to Bleacher Report’s Jake Fischer (Twitter link).

Allen has an expiring $4.1MM contract and is eligible for a rookie scale extension. Merrill has a $500K guarantee on his contract and his $1.5MM deal will become fully guaranteed if he’s on Memphis’ roster through Sunday, ESPN’s Bobby Marks tweets. It’s uncertain whether Memphis plans to keep Merrill, a 2020 second-pick who appeared in 30 regular season games with the Bucks.

Milwaukee’s projected luxury tax bill will jump via this acquisition. The team’s luxury tax penalty will increase from $36MM to $44MM, Marks notes in a separate tweet. Milwaukee is right at $200MM in salary and luxury tax, Marks adds.

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Central Notes: Drummond, Love, Merrill, LaVine

February 21st, 2021 at 1:44pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

With veteran Cavaliers center Andre Drummond now benched for the express purpose of being preserved for a trade, Sam Vecenie of The Athletic examines his possible on-court value and most likely trade or buyout destinations.

“If [you] had a bad center situation, I understand going after him,” a rival executive opined. “But I wouldn’t give up anything real [in a trade].” The Raptors are cited as being able to theoretically construct a workable deal for Drummond. Clubs like the Nets, Clippers, Lakers, Trail Blazers, Mavericks and Rockets could be open to adding Drummond if he’s bought out of his $28.7MM contract.

There’s more out of the Central Division:

  • Cavaliers power forward Kevin Love practiced with Cleveland on Wednesday, per Kelsey Russo of The Athletic (Twitter link). Russo tweets that Love did not practice with the club on Saturday, though head coach J.B. Bickerstaff would not officially term his absence a setback. “I’ll let our medical staff handle that,” Bickerstaff said. Love has appeared in just two games for Cleveland thus far this season.
  • Rookie Bucks guard Sam Merrill has been recalled from a stint with the Memphis Hustle in the G League bubble, the team announced Friday. Merrill is averaging 6.1 MPG across nine games for Milwaukee.
  • Bulls shooting guard Zach LaVine appears to be cementing his case for his first All-Star berth with efficient scoring on a near-.500 Chicago squad that is currently the No. 9 seed in the East. LaVine’s play could put him in line for a lucrative contract extension this summer, writes Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times. “I try to let my game speak for itself,’’ LaVine said. “I let [the press] assess that and put the numbers behind it on the things I’ve done versus my contract and other players.” LaVine is averaging 28.9 PPG while shooting 51.8% from the floor and 42.9% from deep. He pulling down 5.4 RPG and dishing out 5.1 APG.
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