Pistons, Pacers, Cavs Showing Interest in Max Strus

Small forward Max Strus played a significant role in the Heat’s surprising run to the Finals, but it appears the sides may be moving on.

Per Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports, the Pistons, Pacers, Magic and Cavs are among those showing interest in Strus. He has also been linked to the Wizards.

Given that Strus made a name for himself in the postseason, he’s likely to have priced himself out of what the Heat will be willing to offer — namely, the full midlevel exception.

Strus, 27, averaged 11.5 points on 41 percent shooting in 80 games last season, shooting 35 percent on 3-pointers.

The Pistons and Pacers are expected to be particularly active in free agency and trades this summer. Same goes for Cleveland.

“The Cavaliers are looking at all kinds of wing targets, sources said, from Strus to Kelly Oubre to Georges Niang,” Fischer wrote. “There appears to be enough of an interest in Strus around the NBA that league figures aren’t expecting the DePaul product to return to Miami, and Strus sounds likely to command above the full mid-level in average annual salary when everything’s said and done.”

Fresh intel notebook just dropped @YahooSports. The forward market is crowded after John Collins' trade to Utah, including Indiana, Orlando, Sacramento. The latest on Kyle Kuzma and KJ Martin. Plus other dominos teams are waiting to see fall in succession: https://t.co/xW7AiAj1CX

— Jake Fischer (@JakeLFischer) June 27, 2023