Strus just had a career year for the Eastern Conference champions, earning him a life-changing contract. The undrafted wing developed into a tremendous three-and-D option last year, averaging 11.5 points, 3.2 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 0.5 steals across 28.4 minutes a night. His biggest asset is his shooting, knocking down 2.5 three-pointers a night with efficiency of 41.0 percent from the field, 87.6 percent from the free-throw line and 35.0 percent from long range. That's down from shooting 44.5 percent from the field and 39.2 percent from long distance in the two previous years. It's unclear if the drop-off was due to an increase in volume, marking career-highs in attempts in both categories. In any case, he got a four-year, $63 million deal with the Cavaliers and should play a similar role with the talented team. The good news is that Cleveland has no legitimate small forwards on the roster, playing Isaac Okoro way too many minutes over the last few years. Strus should step right into that starting small forward role and provide similar averages to what we saw last season. Don't look for him to be drafted unless you're in a deeper format, but he'll be an interesting player to stream at times. Read Past Outlooks
$Signed a four-year, $63 million contract with the Cavaliers in July of 2023.
Personal Bio/PreCareer Summary
Strus was born in 1996 in Hickory Hills, Illinois to John and Debra Strus. Both parents, along with an older brother and older sister, participated in various college sports. His mother was a two-sport star at DePaul and a member of their Athletic Hall of Fame. Strus went to Amos Alonzo Stagg High School in Palos Hills, Illinois, where he played both basketball and baseball all four years. During his senior season, he went on to average 19 points and nine rebounds. He received a Division I offer from Chicago State University but opted to join Division II Lewis University. You can follow Strus on Instagram (@maxstrus). Max Strus played in four collegiate seasons. He initially starred for two seasons with the Lewis University Flyers before transferring to DePaul and playing for the Blue Demons for his final two collegiate campaigns. As a sophomore at Lewis, Strus averaged 20.2 points and 8.4 boards per contest, which led to first team All-GLVC and Honorable Mention Division II All-American honors. With DePaul, he was a starter in all of the 66 games in which he appeared. In his senior season, he averaged 20.1 points, 5.9 rebounds and 3.2 made threes per contest. Strus also led the Big East in minutes played (1,309). That ruggedness and production led to Struss being named to the All-Big East 2nd Team.
Dealt to Cleveland
FMiami Heat
July 1, 2023
The Cavaliers signed Strus to a four-year, $63 million sign-and-trade in a three-team deal with the Heat and Spurs on Saturday, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reports.
ANALYSIS In the trade, the Heat receive a second-round pick and the Spurs obtain Cedi Osman, Lamar Stevens and a second-round pick. Strus averaged 11.5 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 28.4 minutes across 80 games in 2022-23 on 41.0/35.0/87.6 shooting splits for Miami. Strus will likely compete for a starting job at small forward, and the Cavaliers will hope his outside shooting reverts to his 2021-22 campaign, when he converted on 41.0 percent of his 6.5 three-point attempts per contest.
2022 NBA Per Game Split Stats - Starting/Off Bench
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2022 NBA Per Game Split Stats - Days Rest
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2022 NBA Per Game Split Stats - Vs Opp
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2022 NBA Per Game Split Stats - By Result
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Advanced Stats
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2022
2021
2020
2019
Stat Review
How does Max Strus compare to other players?
This section compares his stats with all players from the previous three seasons (minimum 200 minutes played)*. The bar represents the player's percentile rank. For example, if the bar is halfway across, then the player falls into the 50th percentile for that stat and it would be considered average.
True Shooting %
An advanced statistic that measures a player's efficiency at shooting the ball that takes field goal percentage, free throw percentage, and three point percentage into account.
Effective Field Goal %
A statistic that adjusts field goal percentage to account for the fact that three-point field goals count for three points while field goals only count for two points.
3-Point Attempt Rate
Percentage of field goal attempts from three point range.
Free Throw Rate
Number of free throw attempts per field goal attempt.
Offensive Rebound %
An estimate of the percentage of available offensive rebounds a player grabbed while they were on the floor.
Defensive Rebound %
An estimate of the percentage of available defensive rebounds a player grabbed while they were on the floor.
Total Rebound %
An estimate of the percentage of available rebounds a player grabbed while they were on the floor.
Assist %
An estimate of the percentage of teammate field goals a player assisted while they were on the floor.
Steal %
An estimate of the percentage of opponent possessions that end with a steal by the player while they were on the floor.
Block %
An estimate of the percentage of opponent two-point field goal attempts blocked by the player while they were on the floor.
Turnover %
An estimate of turnovers committed per 100 plays.
Usage %
An estimate of the percentage of team plays used by a player while they were on the floor.
Fantasy Points Per Game
NBA Fantasy Points Per Game.
Fantasy Points Per Minute
NBA Fantasy Points Per Minute.
True Shooting %
55.7%
Effective Field Goal %
53.5%
3-Point Attempt Rate
71.3%
Free Throw Rate
11.3%
Offensive Rebound %
2.4%
Defensive Rebound %
11.0%
Total Rebound %
6.6%
Assist %
11.2%
Steal %
0.8%
Block %
0.5%
Turnover %
6.5%
Usage %
17.5%
Fantasy Points Per Game
19.8
Fantasy Points Per Minute
0.7
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Total
Per Game
Per 36
NBA Historical Fantasy Stats
How are these ratings calculated?
Our historical fantasy ratings are standard scores calculated using 8-Category settings with 12 teams and 13 players per team.
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NBA Per Game Historical Fantasy Stats
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NBA Per 36 Historical Fantasy Stats
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Historical ADP
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Cavaliers Depth Chart
Our full team depth charts are reserved for RotoWire subscribers.
Average Fantasy Points are determined when Max Strus was active vs. non-active during the season. Click here to view average fantasy points for a different time period.
Minutes
FanDuel
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FantasyDraft
Head2Head
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Latest Fantasy Rumors
Might play elsewhere next season
FMiami Heat
June 28, 2023
There's a league-wide belief that Strus might leave the Heat since the team is leaning toward re-signing Gabe Vincent, Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports reports.
ANALYSIS It seems Vincent has a bigger chance of staying in Miami than Strus, though that doesn't mean Strus won't have a fair share of suitors in the open market. The Pistons, Pacers, Magic and Cavaliers are believed to have different degrees of interest in the 27-year-old, who's expected to command a deal worth something close to the mid-level exception.
After playing spot minutes with Miami in 2020-21, Strus moved into a more prominent role last season, with the Heat losing some depth and Duncan Robinson regressing as a shooter. That allowed Strus to claim 23.3 minutes per game and start 16 of his 68 appearances. He posted career marks nearly across the board, with averages of 10.6 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.4 assists. He's primarily a three-point shooter, with 77 percent of his shots coming from distance, and he converted 2.7 threes per game at 41.0 percent. Notably, he shot 50 percent (58-for-117) from the corners. This season, there should continue to be minutes in the mid-20s available for the fourth-year pro out of DePaul. The Heat lost PJ Tucker to Philadelphia during the offseason and didn't replace his minutes, so it's possible Jimmy Butler logs more minutes at power forward, which would open up time on the wing for Strus and others. Nevertheless, it seems unlikely that Strus will hold fantasy relevance in most leagues. He ranked 227th in per-game fantasy production last season. He could improve and crack the top 200, but his upside remains relatively low. For managers in very deep leagues, he's a bench option that can catch fire from beyond the arc and supply some value in that area.
The undrafted rookie out of DePaul signed a two-way contract with the Celtics in late June. At 23 years of age, the 6-foot-6 forward is getting a late start to his professional career. Boston is hoping to develop Strus into an effective three-and-D bench player. During his last year at DePaul, Strus shot 51 percent from the field and 36 percent from behind the arc. He'll model his game after fellow Celtic Semi Ojeleye, but without the massive muscles.
More Fantasy News
Struggles from deep in Game 5
FMiami Heat
June 13, 2023
Strus finished with 12 points (5-12 FG, 1-6 3Pt, 1-1 FT), eight rebounds, one assist and one block in 32 minutes during Monday's 94-89 loss to Denver in Game 5 of the NBA Finals.
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Lights it up from long range in win
FMiami Heat
June 4, 2023
Strus chipped in 14 points (4-10 FG, 4-10 3Pt, 2-3 FT), two rebounds, six assists and one block in 29 minutes during Sunday's 111-108 win over Denver in Game 2 of the NBA Finals.
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Scores in double figures
FMiami Heat
May 28, 2023
Strus posted 10 points (3-8 FG, 2-5 3Pt, 2-3 FT), one rebound and three assists in 25 minutes during Saturday's 104-103 loss to the Celtics in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals.
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Provides spark in comeback win
FMiami Heat
May 17, 2023
Strus notched 15 points (6-10 FG, 3-5 3Pt) and three rebounds across 34 minutes during Wednesday's 123-116 win over the Celtics in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals.
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Leads from deep in 16-point game
FMiami Heat
May 8, 2023
Strus closed Monday's 109-101 victory over the Knicks in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals with 16 points (6-13 FG, 4-10 3Pt), six rebounds, two assists, one block and one steal over 37 minutes.
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