Max Strus Accepted 4-Year, $63 Million Sign-&-Trade Agreement With The Cavaliers
Strus and the Cleveland Cavaliers struck a four-year, $63 million sign-and-trade agreement on Saturday. Strus will allegedly be sent to Cleveland by the Miami Heat in exchange for a second-round selection.
After a stellar season with the Heat, Max Strus attracted a lot of attention from across the NBA this summer.
According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, Max Strus and the Cleveland Cavaliers struck a four-year, $63 million sign-and-trade agreement on Saturday. Strus will allegedly be sent to Cleveland by the Miami Heat in exchange for a second-round selection. In contrast, Cedi Osman, Lamar Stevens, and a second-round pick will reportedly go to the San Antonio Spurs.
Max Strus, who graduated from DePaul in 2019 without being selected and is coming off a breakout campaign in which he assisted the Miami Heat in reaching the NBA Finals, signs his first significant contract due to the agreement.
Last season, Strus averaged a career-high 11.5 points and 3.2 rebounds while shooting 35% from beyond the arc. In his career, he has also shot better than 37% from beyond the arc.
Despite spending most of his time on the bench in Miami, Strus quickly filled the void left by guard Tyler Herro, who injured his hand in the 2022–23 postseason opening game. In the Heat’s series against the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference playoffs, he scored 14.7 on average and shot nearly 48% from the field.
The Heat and Strus, 27, recently completed a two-year, $3.4 million contract.
Strus stated, according to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, after the Heat lost to the Denver Nuggets in the NBA Finals.
“I’ve had an unbelievable time here.”
“I did what I came here to do for myself. They gave me an opportunity, and I took advantage of it. … Obviously, money is a thing. I mean, that’s for anybody. These are moments you work for, the opportunities that could be life-changing. So you can’t ever take that out of it.“
“But I love playing basketball, and that’s always going to be the first thing for me, playing basketball the right way, being comfortable in a place to do that, and making sure I’m compatible with what that organization is about and what they do.”
Despite some minor struggles, Strus’ performance in the Finals attracted a lot of attention from players throughout the league. The Cleveland Cavaliers, the Detroit Pistons, the Indiana Pacers, and the Orlando Magic were all reportedly considering signing Strus this summer in addition to the Pistons and Pacers.
In the previous two years, Strus has more than cemented himself as a reliable player in the NBA, even if he’s moved on from the Heat, who gave him his first meaningful shot.
