Getty Max Strus of the Miami Heat is set to be an unrestricted free agent this summer.
After the Miami Heat sent the Chicago Bulls home in the Play-in Tournament on April 14, one player in particular may have upped his stock more than others: Heat forward Max Strus.
“This man made himself a lot of money tonight,” the Heat’s Jimmy Butler captioned on an Instagram post depicting Strus. Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra seemed to agree, saying the “floodgates can open” when a player perseveres like Strus has in his four years in the league.
The 27-year-old Strus and his 7-of-12 shooting from beyond the arc was a huge reason the Heat made their 24th postseason appearance in team history. His 31 points in 35 minutes in Miami’s 102-91 win over the Bulls came at a good time for him personally, as he’s set to be an unrestricted free agent this summer.
Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald suggested a couple of comps that could hint at the type of contract Strus could sign — especially if he keeps up his hot shooting in the postseason.
“In the 2021 offseason, the Heat re-signed three-point specialist Duncan Robinson to a five-year, $90 million contract,” Chiang wrote in a story published April 16. “Comparable three-point shooting weapon Joe Harris signed a four-year, $75 million contract with the Brooklyn Nets in the 2020 offseason.”
Strus Has Been Quietly Improving Over His 4 Seasons
Strus is one of seven undrafted players on Miami’s roster, including Udonis Haslem, Gabe Vincent and Omer Yurtseven. No other team in the postseason this year has more undrafted athletes on its roster than Miami.
Now in his fourth season in the NBA, Strus played in just two games his first year in the league, when he spent a lone season with the Bulls. Strus has been with the Heat over the last three years, and both his scoring average and minutes have increased in each year with the team. He averaged just over six points a game during the 2020-21 season, 10.6 points a game the following year and 11.5 points this past season.
“Like a lot of our guys,” Spoelstra said about Strus, via The South Florida Sun Sentinel, “he has that grit and that perseverance. His routine never changes, in terms of starting his shooting workouts. Whether we’re on the road, he always meets us there, gets in his routine before we arrive. After practice, before practice, before games, he just stays consistent all the way through. And that’s what you can commit to, not having a guarantee of any kind of results. But if you just continue to plug away, you stay with your process, eventually the floodgates can open, particularly if you just stay the course and have that kind of perseverance and grit.”
Coach Spo also thinks Strus may be about to cash in.
Coach Spo: ‘Really Happy for Guys Like Max’
“You’re really happy for guys like Max, when they have to go through a lot of different stuff during an NBA season,” Spoelstra added, referencing Strus’ status as a free agent this summer. “It’s not all roses. But I think it develops some competitive character and I think he’s really grown just overall this season.”
Will Miami re-sign Strus? That all depends on how much money he wants, but it’s not likely. Currently on a veteran’s minimum deal, Strus will command far more than the $1.8 million he made this year. Considering the Heat’s contract with Robinson, Miami may be looking for a cheap veteran on a one- or two-year deal.