Max Strus and Gabe Vincent — on minimum contracts paying them $1.8 million apiece last season — both are due massive raises as free agents who helped Miami make its run to the NBA Finals. It was always going to be difficult for the capped-out Heat to retain both of them, and the buzz for some time was that Miami felt it had to prioritize Vincent because of its need at one (considering the declining play of Kyle Lowry).
Buzz about a hot market for Strus has been growing — what team couldn’t use a shooter like Strus on the wing, he hit 35% from 3 last season — and the Indiana Pacers may be leading the way, Marc Stein reported in his latest Substack missive .
Sources tell The Stein Line that the Indiana Pacers, who are projected to have more than $30 million in salary cap space, are strongly weighing a three-year offer for Strus in the $48 million range.
Orlando and Detroit also have a strong interest in Strus and have the cap space to go above the mid-level exception of $12.4 million next season to get him. reports Jake Fischer at Yahoo .
Strus, who has earned $3.8 million total over his four NBA seasons, has to accept the biggest payday coming his way. He can’t leave money on the table at this point in his career. Strus is a career 37.1% shooter from 3 who has proven himself on some of the NBA’s biggest stages (his 10-of-43 struggles against Denver in the NBA Finals will not hurt his market).
How Miami fills out its roster for next season around Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo will be something to watch this offseason. They are currently in a holding pattern waiting to see how the Damian Lillard situation will play out in Portland but they can’t do that for long and let the rest of the market move on without them.
Strus is almost certainly not a member of the Heat next season, and he will have options.