Cavs Make Free Agency Splash, Sign Max Strus
The Cleveland Cavaliers are not messing around with how active they are in free agency this season. Koby Altman made a couple of moves early on Friday afternoon but made his biggest move yet came on Saturday morning.
The Cavs, Miami Heat, and San Antonio Spurs pulled off a three-team, sign-and-trade deal around free agent forward, Max Strus. Here's how it shakes out for each team:
- Cleveland - Max Strus (signed a four-year, $63 million contract)
- Miami - 2nd round pick
- San Antonio - Cedi Osman, Lamar Stevens, 2nd round pick
Cleveland made finding a small forward who can shoot their number one priority this offseason. Strus brings plenty of floor spacing and long-distance shooting to the roster.
Strus has been in the NBA since the 2019-20 NBA season. Since then, he's been a 37 percent career shooter from behind the arc. Last season with Miami, Strus averaged 11.5 points and shot 35 percent from behind the arc.
He also brings plenty of playoff experience to the Cavs as they look to win now with Donovan Mitchell. Strus was a major player in the Heat's 2023 Finals run.
He did struggle in the postseason though. Strus played in 23 playoff games last season and averaged 9.3 points and shot 32 percent from behind the arc.
The Cavs are losing two key role players in Osman and Stevens in this deal, but the signing of Georges Niang helps to preserve the depth at forward.
The biggest thing that this trade signals to the fans is that Altman and the organization are going all in. There's no more time to waste and Cleveland needs to prove they are a true Finals contender in the Eastern Conference.
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