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Sacramento Kings finalize roster, waive Sam Merrill

Originally posted on The Kings Herald | By Greg Wissinger | Last updated 10/15/22

The Sacramento Kings finalized their roster on Saturday, waiving guard Sam Merrill as their final cut. KZ Okpala, Chima Moneke, and Matthew Dellavedova made the final roster. ESPN’s Adrian Wojranowski was first with the news, and James Ham confirmed.

Forwards KZ Okpala and Chima Moneke and guard Matthew Dellavedova have secured the Sacramento Kings’ final roster spots to open the season, sources tell ESPN.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) October 15, 2022

League source confirms that KZ Okpala, Chima Moneke and Matthew Dellavedova have made the Kings roster. Sam Merrill is the final cut.

— James Ham (@James_HamNBA) October 15, 2022

KZ Okpala is no surprise after a strong preseason that saw him start 3 of 4 games. Moneke was featured heavily in the rotation in the last two preseason games, and it seemed likely that he was making the roster. It is the first time the UC Davis alum has made an NBA roster.

Merrill isn’t a shock, but there was still some chatter that the Kings liked what he’d done in camp. Merrill is known for his shooting, but didn’t produce much in his limited minutes in the preseason. Keith Smith notes that because of the contract structure the Kings gave Merrill, he will not be eligible to join the Stockton Kings:

The Sacramento Kings have waived Sam Merrill, a league source tells @spotrac.

Sacramento will have $150K in dead money on their books for the season for Merrill. Because Merrill got more than $50K guaranteed, he's not eligible to play for Sacramento's G League team in Stockton.

— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) October 15, 2022

Congratulations to KZ, Chima, and Delly!

The Kings open their season against the Trail Blazers on Wednesday.

This article first appeared on The Kings Herald and was syndicated with permission.

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