Cleveland Cavaliers guard Max Strus has fought through a lot of adversity to get to his current standing in the NBA landscape. Strus was a key member of the Miami Heat squad that made the NBA Finals a year ago before joining the Cavs this offseason via a sign-and-trade.
However, the journey to become one of the NBA’s most sought-after targets this past offseason was an arduous one.
Recently, Strus stopped by the ‘Five on the Floor’ podcast to discuss the process.
“I have never really been wanted in the NBA, so it was a little bit different,” said Strus. “I was kinda always putting my name out there and trying to get my opportunity.”
Max Strus played college basketball at both Lewis and DePaul before going undrafted in 2019. He would eventually sign with the Chicago Bulls where he played sparingly, eventually going out for the season with a knee injury.
In 2020, Strus was signed by the Miami Heat, spending time in both the NBA G-League and Summer League as he continued to expand his game. Eventually, the sharpshooter would become a key member of Miami’s rotation, providing floor spacing and scoring to help out Jimmy Butler and Adebayo for the Heat’s deep playoff runs in 2022 and 2023.
Although Strus struggled in the 2023 Finals against the Denver Nuggets, he had still built enough of a reputation to earn himself a four-year, $63 million deal with Cleveland this offseason. Sturs figures to be a huge part of the equation for the Cavs, who will be looking to bounce back after last year’s embarrassing postseason defeat to the Knicks.