Max Strus is going to Cleveland from Miami as part of a three-team deal with San Antonio.
President of Basketball Operations Koby Altman was determined to make the Cavaliers better without disrupting the core four of Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen.
Free agency began at 6 p.m. June 30, and Altman wasted no time putting his plan to work.
The Cavaliers, in a three-team trade, shipped bench players Cedi Osman and Lamar Stevens plus a second-round draft pick to the San Antonio Spurs. They also traded a second-round pick to the Miami Heat and in return acquired free agent small forward Max Strus from the Heat in a sign-and-trade deal. Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN was first to report the trade. Strus will make $63 million over four years.
The Cavs held a summer practice July 1 at Cleveland Clinic Courts in Independence. Team officials could not talk about the trade because it and other deals across the NBA won’t become official until 12:01 p.m. July 6.
The Cavaliers also agreed with free agent power forward Georges Naing to a three-year $26 million contract, according to Spotrac.com. They also re-upped with guard/forward Caris LeVert on a two-year, $32 million deal.
Altman might not be done shopping. The Cavs need a backup center and, according to The Athletic and Cleveland.com, they are looking into small forward Miles Bridges on the possibility of a two-year, $27 million contract. Bridges would likely come off the bench once he is allowed to play. The former player for the Charlotte Hornets still has 10 games of a 30-game suspension to serve from a reported domestic violence incident in November 2022 when he played for the Hornets. He did not play in the 2022-23 season.
Strus, though, is the big addition. He is projected to start at small forward, which means Coach J.B. Bickerstaff could use Isaac Okoro off the bench more than in the past. Okoro started 46 of the 76 games he played last season. Okoro is a tenacious defender, but he attempted an average of only 2.3 three-pointers a game. He converted 0.8 of them.
Strus attended DePaul and went undrafted in 2019. He signed with the Celtics in the Summer League and parlayed that into a two-way contract with Boston.
Strus was waived in final cut downs in 2019. His journey took him to the Chicago Bulls, but he played only two games before ultimately signing with the Heat on Nov. 30, 2020.
Strus played in 80 games and started 33 with Miami last season. He averaged 11.1 points a game while connecting on 35 percent of his 3-point attempts — 2.5 on seven shots a game. He started all 23 games for the Heat in the 2023 playoffs. He finished in double figures in scoring 12 times.
