The Cleveland Cavaliers reportedly have agreed to acquire sharpshooter Max Strus in a sign-and-trade deal featuring the Miami Heat and San Antonio Spurs.
Strus, 27, comes to Cleveland on a four-year, $63 million deal. The Cavs traded Lamar Stevens and Cedi Osman to the Spurs to facilitate the trade. Both Miami and San Antonio are set to receive second-round picks.
Free agent Max Strus has agreed on a four-year, $63M sign-and-trade with the Cleveland Cavaliers, agent Mark Bartelstein of @PrioritySports tells ESPN. In three-team deal, Heat get a second-round pick and Spurs acquire Cedi Osman, Lamar Stevens and a second-rounder. pic.twitter.com/xKAmqlx3aF
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 1, 2023
Miami will also receive a trade exception in the deal, which could help the team add another player in the trade market this offseason.
Can confirm Heat getting trade exception and second-round pick in sign-and-trade of Max Strus to Cleveland. Spurs the third team involved, taking on salary from Cavaliers.
— Ira Winderman (@IraHeatBeat) July 1, 2023
Cleveland has made some major moves to improve its shooting and depth on the wing and forward spots this offseason.
On Friday, the team reportedly agreed to deals with Caris LeVert and Georges Niang, two proven shooters from beyond the arc. Adding Strus now gives the Cavs another knockdown shooter on the wing, something the team missed dearly in the first round of the playoffs against the New York Knicks last season.
Strus is a career 37.1 percent shooter from beyond the arc and played a big role for Miami the last two seasons, averaging 26.1 minutes per game.
During the 2022-23 season, the former undrafted free agent averaged 11.5 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game while shooting 41.0 percent from the field and 35.0 percent from beyond the arc. In the 2021-22 season, Strus shot 41.0 percent from downtown.
He was a key cog in Miami’s run to the NBA Finals last season, and Strus has a ton of playoff experience in his short NBA career.
The Cavs needed to move Osman and Stevens to help facilitate the Strus deal, but it’s likely both players would have been phased out of significant roles in the rotation (had they been retained) with Strus and Niang coming onto the roster for the 2023-24 season.
Cleveland is looking to take a step forward in the Eastern Conference after getting knocked out by the Knicks in the first round of the playoffs in the 2022-23 season.
So far, the team has addressed a major weakness with multiple signings, and Strus, LeVert and Niang all should fit in well alongside Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland.
It will be interesting to see if the Cavs make any additional moves this offseason to bolster the roster.
