3 Cleveland Cavaliers helped by the arrival of wing Max Strus
The Cleveland Cavaliers young core is in an interesting spot. Prior to trading for Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland and Evan Mobley clearly were developing rapidly with Jarrett Allen as a steady contributor.
In Cleveland’s situation, every new player does more than broadly improving or hurting the team’s trajectory. Each developing talent has an opportunity to learn from their new teammate and develop new skills based on their fit with one another.
As free agency approached its official start, the Cavaliers were in rumors for a sign-and-trade with the Miami Heat centered around Max Strus. With it finally completed, with the San Antonio Spurs in the deal as well, the Cavs have added another reliable shooter and retained Caris LeVert to start the summer.
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
That’s the *2026 Lakers pick* that the #Cavs own. Too much going on the last few days haha. https://t.co/7TyQPZU1yS
— Chris Fedor (@ChrisFedor) July 1, 2023
Max Strus is joining the Cleveland Cavaliers
Though Cleveland will miss Cedi Osman and Lamar Stevens and their contributions to the city, Strus will provide every member of the Cavaliers franchise a running mate that can complement their individual skills.
Primarily, Strus will be expected to serve as Cleveland’s starting small forward on opening night. His recent run to the NBA Finals as the starting three in Miami proved his worth in the league in that role. While his performance in those five games exposed some of his flaws, Strus will still offer a number of positives to Cleveland.
There are three members of the Cavaliers organization that will be the most grateful for Strus in his first season with Cleveland. Here are those contributors, beginning in descending order in terms of Strus’ importance to them.