He had been scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent on July 6. The free-agency negotiating period will be open at 6 p.m. June 30, meaning other teams would have been able to begin talking to Merrill then.

The Cavaliers may have tipped their hand on which key roleplayer they plan to keep after landing Lonzo Ball in a surprising offseason shake-up.

The Cleveland Cavaliers are trading for Chicago's Lonzo Ball, a move which brings another point guard to one of the best rosters in the Eastern Conference. Giving up Isaac Okoro for Ball is a major win for the franchise,

The Cleveland Cavaliers have agreed to acquire guard Lonzo Ball from the Chicago Bulls for forward Isaac Okoro according to a person with knowledge of the agreement. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Saturday because the trade can not be finalized until the start of the new league year on July 6.