Sam Merrill
Age 30 · 6'5" · 205 lb
Pick #60, 2020 Draft · Rookie 2021 · 232 games · 43 playoff games
DPM · #197 of 523
-0.1Historical comps
Comps & futures
The ten most similar player-seasons since 1996-97 at the same age, and what happened to them next.
| Comp | Age | DPM then | Next 5 seasons | Match |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jae Crowder 2019-20 | 30 | +0.2 | +0.7, +1.1, +0.3, -1.7, under 10 games | 90 |
| Wesley Matthews 2016-17 | 30 | -0.2 | -1.4, -1.2, -0.5, -0.9, -1.3 | 89 |
| Reggie Jackson 2019-20 | 30 | -0.1 | +0.9, -0.3, -2.4, -2.8, -2.9 | 89 |
| Morris Peterson 2007-08 | 30 | -0.2 | -0.3, -1.6, under 10 games, under 10 games, under 10 games | 87 |
| James Jones 2010-11 | 30 | +0.3 | -1.1, -1.8, +0.1, -1.9, -2.7 | 87 |
| Joe Harris 2020-21 | 29 | +0.4 | +0.1, -0.5, -1.5, under 10 games, under 10 games | 87 |
| Damon Jones 2005-06 | 29 | -0.1 | -0.5, -0.6, -1.0, under 10 games, under 10 games | 87 |
| Wayne Ellington 2017-18 | 30 | +0.1 | 0.0, -0.2, -0.4, -0.3, under 10 games | 87 |
| Nicolas Batum 2018-19 | 30 | -0.3 | -0.2, +1.9, +0.5, -0.1, -0.6 | 87 |
| Will Barton 2020-21 | 30 | 0.0 | -0.1, -2.3, under 10 games, under 10 games, under 10 games | 86 |
The 25 player-seasons since 1996-97 closest to Sam's 2026-27 at the same age: DPM and its offense/defense split, the two seasons before, box-score profile, height, experience and age. Each comp counts once, at his closest season, weighted by the match. Hover or focus a comp to trace his next five seasons. A website presentation, not a DARKO model output.
Around the league
Top 10 comps today
Current players closest to Sam Merrill's current profile, by DARKO ratings, age and projected box-score style.
- -0.1DPMDPM Offense +0.5 Defense -0.6 Per 100 possessions:19.0points5.2rebounds4.2assistsP/R/A100.0
- -0.1DPMDPM Offense +0.6 Defense -0.7 Per 100 possessions:21.4points5.7rebounds5.9assistsP/R/A91.9
- -0.2DPMDPM Offense +0.1 Defense -0.3 Per 100 possessions:21.3points8.1rebounds3.1assistsP/R/A90.4
- -0.6DPMDPM Offense +0.2 Defense -0.8 Per 100 possessions:18.2points5.9rebounds3.5assistsP/R/A90.3
- -0.4DPMDPM Offense +0.1 Defense -0.5 Per 100 possessions:20.0points8.8rebounds5.6assistsP/R/A89.8
- +0.4DPMDPM Offense +0.7 Defense -0.2 Per 100 possessions:21.3points6.8rebounds3.8assistsP/R/A88.8
- -0.1DPMDPM Offense +0.5 Defense -0.6 Per 100 possessions:18.4points5.0rebounds3.5assistsP/R/A88.5
- +0.2DPMDPM Offense 0.0 Defense +0.2 Per 100 possessions:20.0points4.2rebounds3.1assistsP/R/A87.5
- +0.2DPMDPM Offense +0.5 Defense -0.3 Per 100 possessions:22.3points6.4rebounds3.7assistsP/R/A86.7
- +0.6DPMDPM Offense +0.8 Defense -0.2 Per 100 possessions:19.6points7.4rebounds2.7assistsP/R/A86.2
How these matches work
Each player's latest published profile is compared with today's league. The score uses standardized differences in DPM, offense, defense, age, scoring, assists, rebounds, blocks, steals, turnovers, three-point shot share and free-throw rate. DPM and age carry the most weight. Historical trajectory and a same-age cutoff are not used here.
100 is an identical profile, so a current player is his own first match. Scores fall by 8 points per unit of weighted distance, down to zero. This is a similarity index, not a probability. Box-score figures are projections per 100 possessions, so playing time does not distort the comparison.
Value
Contract & longevity
DARKO's fair salary from projected wins against Sam Merrill's salary, and the odds of still being on an NBA roster in each coming season.
- Fair value
- $13.4M
- DARKO's market estimate
- Salary
- $9.2M
- Actual
- Surplus
- +$4.2M
- Value minus salary
- WARP
- 2.5
- Wins above replacement
- Seasons left
- 3.5
- Projected, within 15
- Retires at
- 34.4
- Projected age
Career
Season by season
DPM going into each season's last game, since 1996-97.
| Season | Team | Age | Games | MPG | DPM | Off | Def | For his age |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-27 so far | CLE | 30 | 7 | 24.1 | -0.10 | +0.42 | -0.52 | — |
| 2025-26 | CLE | 30 | 52 +17 | 26.5 | +0.20 | +0.94 | -0.74 | 270th of 697 |
| 2024-25 | CLE | 28 | 71 +8 | 19.7 | +0.40 | +0.33 | +0.07 | 300th of 858 |
| 2023-24 | CLE | 28 | 61 +10 | 17.5 | -0.74 | +0.02 | -0.75 | 529th of 858 |
| 2022-23 | CLE | 26 | 5 | 11.7 | -0.84 | -0.43 | -0.41 | — |
| 2021-22 | MEM | 25 | 6 | 9.6 | -1.38 | -0.42 | -0.96 | — |
| 2020-21 | MIL | 25 | 30 +8 | 7.8 | -1.30 | -0.94 | -0.36 | 734th of 1077 |
Games are regular season; +n are playoff games. "For his age" ranks the season's DPM among every season at the same age since 1996-97 with 20 or more games. A season's DPM opens the leaderboard on its last game day.
Projections
Projected box score
DARKO's rest-of-season projections per 100 possessions, and per game at 20.4 projected minutes when he plays and a pace of 98.9.
| Stat | Per 100 | Per game |
|---|---|---|
| Points | 19.0 | 8.0 |
| Rebounds | 5.2 | 2.2 |
| Offensive | 1.1 | 0.5 |
| Defensive | 4.1 | 1.7 |
| Assists | 4.2 | 1.8 |
| Steals | 1.4 | 0.6 |
| Blocks | 0.3 | 0.1 |
| Turnovers | 1.4 | 0.6 |
| 3-pt attempts | 11.7 | 4.9 |
| FG attempts | 14.6 | 6.1 |
| FT attempts | 2.5 | 1.0 |
| FG% · 3P% · FT% | 43.1% · 38.9% · 85.5% | |