The Cleveland Cavaliers made a big-swing trade when they completed a sign-and-trade that included five teams. They landed Peyton Watson, sending Max Strus to the LA Clippers in the deal. Landing Watson is great for Cleveland. A perfect 3-and-D forward with plenty of athleticism. But losing Strus is going to be a tough pill to swallow, and Sam Merrill will have to make it up to him.
Merrill is an elite three-point shooter. Particularly, a movement shooter. And with Strus gone, the Cavaliers are going to need as much three-point shooting as they can get. Strus was an energy defender and volume shooter, and Watson likely won’t be able to fill the same offensive gaps. So, that’s where Merrill will have to come into play.
With Strus now with the Clippers, the Cavaliers will need other guys to be even better shooters. Merrill is one of those guys. Perhaps Cleveland’s go-to guy for filling the void, because Watson isn't very well-suited for that job.
Sam Merrill can replace Max Strus' movement shooting better than Peyton Watson
Throughout his time in Cleveland, Strus dealt with a ton of injuries. He was unable to consistently stay on the court for the Cavaliers, and that hurt his ability to make an impact.
But when he has been on the court, Strus has been one of the Cavaliers’ most dependable guys. Again, it all comes down to his energy and ability to take and make tough threes.
He only appeared in 12 games this year, but he made 40.2% of his 6.8 threes a night. And in 2024-25, Strus appeared in 50 games, shooting 38.6% from deep on 5.9 attempts.
Now, he’s gone, and he’s likely going to be replaced by Watson in the starting lineup. But Watson isn’t the same level of shooter as Strus is, especially when it comes to movement shooting.
That’s where Merrill comes into play. He’s not the same level of athlete as Strus is, but he’s an incredible three-point shooter who is also capable of shooting on the move like Strus (to a degree).
Last season, Merrill shot an impressive 42.1% from distance on 7.2 three-point attempts per game. He made 3.0 of them. He’s an absolutely elite shooter.
Watson shot 41.1% from deep last season, but he only took 3.6 threes a night. That’s half the number of threes Merrill took per game. Volume is just as important as efficiency nowadays.
If the Cavaliers are going to replace Strus’ three-point shooting, which they should definitely want to do, Merrill is the guy for the job.
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