Merrill's primary skill is his outside shooting, as he hit 42% from 3 in college on high volume, and doing so off-the-dribble as well as spotting up, considering he was the go-to guy at Utah State. That shooting hadn't quite translated to the pro game early in his career, as he shot 33% from 3 in the NBA and G-League during his rookie season in '20-'21 and in brief stints over the next couple years. However, he started to come along over the past year or so, as he hit 44% of his threes in the G-League in '22-'23, and then continued that high level of play in Summer League in 2023, and probably should have won Summer League MVP. He has had a breakout year for the Cavs in '23-'24, getting up threes at a high volume, hitting 40% of them, and being in Cleveland's regular rotation. Merrill has good size at 6'5", which allows him to get shots up over a contest, which he is certainly capable of making. He can hit quick catch-and-shoot 3s, he can take them off-the-dribble in pick-and-roll, or fire in tight windows coming off dribble hand-offs. He has one of those automatic-looking shots that you expect to always go in, especially when he has it going already. There are some real questions about his athleticism, which may limit his ability to finish at the rim or defend at a high level, but his shooting and overall basketball IQ could overshadow those deficiencies. Merrill hasn't quite proven that he's a definite rotation-level player for any team, but he certainly belongs on a roster.

Merrill will be an unrestricted free agent with a $2.3 million cap hold and Early Bird rights. The Cavaliers could offer Merrill a starting salary of up to 5% more than the average salary (likely around $13.5 million) using the Early Bird exception, which should be more than enough should they wish to bring him back. Other teams will have multiple ways to sign Merrill as even teams without cap space could possibly use any of the Non-Taxpayer MLE, Room MLE, Taxpayer MLE, or Bi-Annual Exception to sign him. It's also possible that he only gets minimum offers.

John Konchar (3 years, $18.5 million, 2022) Sam Hauser (4 years, $45 million, 2024) Damion Lee (1 year minimum, 2024)