In the fall of 2020, Max Strus and his agent were the ones making the sales pitch.
Strus, an undrafted player out of DePaul by way of Lewis College, started his NBA career with the Celtics’ Summer League team in 2019. After being cut by Boston at the end of training camp, the Illinois native then signed with his hometown Bulls, making only two appearances for the club. In December of that year, he tore his ACL during a G League game.
So when it came time to find a team after recovering from surgery, Strus had to be the one to market himself.
“I was trying to find a camp spot; I was trying to get an Exhibit 10,” Strus says. “Myself and my agent were the ones reaching out to people and calling them.”
Strus found a training camp invite with the Heat, which eventually became a two-way contract in December 2020 before he was signed to a two-year, minimum deal in ’21. After three seasons total with Miami—and after starting every playoff game for the team the last two years—Strus was a free agent this summer, and once again hoping for a contract.
Except this time it was Strus who was receiving the calls. And from none other than All-Stars Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland, who were recruiting him to the Cavaliers. Eventually it was Strus’s agent, calling with a robust offer: a four-year deal worth $62 million.
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In a summer of big moves for Eastern Conference contenders, the Cavs made a sly one in adding Strus, the three-point specialist who was a key cog during Miami’s 2023 run to the NBA Finals. He splashed onto the scene in Cleveland in a big way, scoring 27 points in his debut, drilling seven threes in a win against the Nets. Playing with the freedom and security of a long-term deal, Strus has gotten off to a hot start, averaging 18.7 points, 9.3 rebounds and 4.0 assists during the Cavs’ first three games, shooting 37.3% from three.
“To be completely honest with you, you’re thinking about it all year,” Strus says of playing last season with his free agency impending. “Anybody who tells you differently would be lying to you. To me, it was, be the best you could be at that given moment, and everything will work itself out.”
Things certainly worked out for Strus. His 31 points in a play-in game last year saved Miami’s season and put the team in the playoffs. From there he started all 23 games during the Heat’s Finals run. Strus says the extended postseason not only helped him take his mind off the upcoming pivotal summer, but also added to his value as a player.
“Winning is the most important quality that any team should be looking for,” Strus says. “To have Finals experience under my belt going into free agency, I knew it was only going to help. Teams are going to want guys that have won at a high level.”
The Cavs especially needed some postseason bona fides after their disappointing playoff exit in the first round last April. Cleveland lost in five games to the lower-seeded Knicks, with its offense stuck in mud for the vast majority of the series. Strus is a natural fit at small forward, giving the team some much-needed shooting and length on the perimeter.
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Through three games, the fit has been as clean in practice as on paper, even with Cleveland dealing with injuries to Mitchell, Garland and center Jarrett Allen, among others. Strus is still averaging 11 three-point attempts a night. And so far, he’s shooting 44.8% on 9.7 catch-and-shoot threes a game.
Those numbers will fluctuate as the season settles into a rhythm, but they make sense. Garland and Mitchell are adept at putting pressure on the rim on pick-and-rolls, which should give Strus plenty of opportunities to spot up beyond the arc. (In Miami, Strus certainly had catch-and-shoot opportunities, though he was also frequently asked to be a movement shooter off screens.)
And Strus should still be able to work his move-and-shoot game. He cited Evan Mobley as a player he is particularly excited to share the floor with, because of their burgeoning chemistry and Mobley’s ability to work as a partner with Strus, both in handoffs and pick-and-rolls.
Defense, of course, will be key. While Strus is moving from more of a switching style to a funnel-into-the-bigs team, he knows he will be tested on the perimeter in high-stakes moments. In Miami, part of the reason Strus started in the postseason is because he could survive against elite wings even if he wasn’t exactly a stopper. In Cleveland, with an undersized backcourt, Strus will often be taking on challenges on the outside.
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“I do think they’re going to be looking at me more to do those things,” Strus says, of picking up wing scorers. “And I’m super happy about it because I know I can defend. If they’re going to put me on whoever, I’m going to do my best. You’re not going to hold guys to zero, but trying to make it more difficult on those guys is all I can really do.”
Having Mobley and a healthy Allen certainly should help. Strus describes trying to score in the paint against those two when he was an opponent as “damn near impossible.” And Cleveland should have more defensive versatility, as Strus can be a valuable part of lineups with either one or both of the bigs on the floor. And with the addition of Georges Niang, the Cavs may not have made the sexiest of moves, but they definitely added more shooting and flexibility.
“We do have the talent and the right pieces to be a playoff-contending team,” Strus says. “Nobody’s really talking about us. There was moves made in the East. But I’ll take our guys in our locker room every single day of the week.”
For Strus, his addition to the Cavs is more than simply X’s and O’s. It‘s also a sign of how far he’s come since he went undrafted, which he says still puts a chip on his shoulder. Getting actively recruited this summer, Strus says, showed respect for him around the league has grown.
“It was really cool to see now what I’ve built with my career, the success that I’ve had. … It was overwhelming, honestly. It just goes to show all the hard work that has really paid off,” Strus says. “To be one of the guys in the NBA that was sought after, it was pretty special.”
