Max Strus Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Southeast Notes: Wizards, Kuzma, M. Williams, Dedmon, Strus

December 30th, 2022 at 10:40pm CST by Rory Maher

The Wizards need to figure out what Kyle Kuzma‘s intentions are ahead of the February 9 trade deadline, writes David Aldridge of The Athletic. If the 27-year-old doesn’t commit to re-signing with the Wizards in advance — technically forbidden, but of course early discussions happen all the time and that’s why dozens of signings occur within minutes of free agency “opening” — then the team would be better off dealing him for assets, according to Aldridge.

Aldridge isn’t opposed to the idea of a swap for John Collins — he thinks Kuzma is a better overall player, but the difference isn’t “prohibitive.” However, the Wizards have more questions to answer about the roster than just Kuzma’s potential future with the team, including what an expensive trio of Kuzma, Kristaps Porzingis and Bradley Beal might mean for the future.

After dropping 10 in a row, the Wizards have now won five of their past six games, including four straight. They currently sit at 16-21, one game behind the Bulls for the No. 10 seed in the East.

Here’s more from the Southeast:

Mark Williams‘ emergence has created a “welcomed dilemma” for the Hornets, according to Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer. The rookie first-rounder, selected 15th overall in June’s draft, was given backup center minutes in recent games due to an ankle sprain to Nick Richards. With Richards available on Thursday, head coach Steve Clifford continued to use Williams, and he responded with a career night, Boone notes, recording 17 points (on 7-of-7 shooting), 13 rebounds, two assists, two steals and two blocks in just 21 minutes. “To me, they’re both developing players,” Clifford said of Richards and Williams. “When you have a roster of a lot of younger players, you do them both. You want to try to develop them and win as many games as we can. And we’re in a place where we need to win. But we’ve got to see. Yeah, it’s not easy. We have a lot of guys at that position. Nick’s going to be a part of things. I like the way he plays. He’s done a good job. But I also want to see what Mark can bring.”
Heat backup center Dewayne Dedmon is away from the team as he continues to be plagued by plantar fasciitis in his left foot. On top of that, he has now entered the NBA’s health and safety protocols, per Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel. The 33-year-old might be a trade chip ahead of the deadline if the Heat look for a roster upgrade — his salary for next season is non-guaranteed, and he’s making $4.7MM this season.
Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports details how wing Max Strus went from an undrafted free agent to a rotation regular for the Heat, becoming a developmental success story in the process. Strus, an unrestricted free agent in 2023, has been in a prolonged shooting slump this month, posting a miserable .328/.266/.500 slash line leading up to Friday night’s loss in Denver, when he scored 19 points on .539/.500/1.000 shooting. Twenty-year veteran Udonis Haslem, another former undrafted player, says Strus can be hard on himself — a byproduct of having a chip on his shoulder due to his difficult path to the NBA. “My message to Max, a lot of the time, outside of leading and teaching, is don’t be so hard on yourself sometimes. It’s OK to give yourself a break,” Haslem said.

Eastern Notes: VanVleet, Strus, Vincent, Nets

December 27th, 2022 at 9:37pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Fred VanVleet has played more off the ball this season and the Raptors guard admits it hasn’t been an easy adjustment, William Lou of Sportsnet tweets. “I’m always willing to do what’s best for the team and it’s something we’ve been trying,” he said. “There’s games where I dominate the ball and we need that, but for the most part I’m in a completely different role than last year.” VanVleet is shooting a career-low 33.5% on 3-point attempts this season. He left Tuesday’s game early with lower back stiffness, Marc Spears of ESPN tweets.

We have more from the Eastern Conference:

Max Strus made half of his 10 three-point attempts for the Heat on Monday, a sign he may be breaking out of a shooting slump, Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald writes. It was the first time Strus made more than three 3-pointers in a game since Nov. 30. Strus, an unrestricted free agent after this season, shot 24.7% from deep in 11 games prior to Monday’s breakout.
Guard Gabe Vincent scored 11 points in 18 minutes on Monday after missing eight consecutive Heat games with tendinosis in his right knee. “It’s hard to not be present,” he told Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel. “But it’s hard to see something that you can help and not being able to help. I think that applies to every aspect of life, when you feel like you can help a situation but you’re not able to. It’s difficult.” Vincent is also headed to unrestricted free agency after the season.
Putting controversies aside and just focusing on the game has keyed the Nets’ nine-game winning streak, Nick Friedell of ESPN writes. “The most important part of today is we’re trying to win this ballgame,” coach Jacque Vaughn said. “When we step into the gym every single day it’s about basketball. How we’re going to take care of each other on the floor, cover for each other on the floor, it’s about basketball.”

Heat Notes: Rotation, Dedmon, Butler, Injuries, Herro

December 20th, 2022 at 6:45pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Heat have been unable to play their full roster this season due to injuries. What could happen if the Heat get at or near full strength?

Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel explores that question. Gabe Vincent, who has seen some playing time as the backup point guard, could be pushed further down the bench. Coach Erik Spoelstra would have to choose between Max Strus and Duncan Robinson as the backup wing and Haywood Highsmith could also be on the rotation bubble.

The Heat could look to deal backup center Dewayne Dedmon and his expiring contract, along with another player, for some immediate help. In that scenario, Orlando Robinson could be a stopgap as the main reserve until Omer Yurtseven is able to return from ankle surgery.

We have more on the Heat:

Speaking of absences, Jimmy Butler was scratched from the team’s game against Chicago on Tuesday due to a gastrointestinal illness, the team tweets. It was the 12th game that Butler missed this season.
A trio of other players — Kyle Lowry (left knee soreness), Caleb Martin (left ankle sprain) and Vincent (left knee effusion) — were also sidelined. Two-way player Jamal Cain was recalled from the G League to provide depth.
Entering the team’s road trip, Tyler Herro was averaging 15.6 points in the nine wins in which he played and 24.2 points in the 10 losses he played. Herro then averaged a team-high 26.3 points during the Heat’s 4-0 road swing. He debunks the notion that the team tends to do better when he scores less, according to Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald. “I think it’s a pointless stat. Because the games we’ve won, I’ve shot the same amount of shots and I just ended up missing them,” he said. “So when shots go in, I’ll have above 20. If I miss, I have below 20. It’s make or miss at the end of the day and I don’t think that stat is credible.”

Eastern Notes: Horford, Young, Heat, Duarte, Brown

December 12th, 2022 at 10:52pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Celtics veteran big man Al Horford will rejoin the team on Friday, Jared Weiss of The Athletic tweets. Horford has been away from the C’s for personal reasons following a stint in the league’s health and safety protocols. Horford, who signed a two-year extension at the beginning of the month, hasn’t played since Dec. 4.

We have more from the Eastern Conference:

Hawks star guard Trae Young has been fined $25K for throwing the game ball into the spectator stands, Adam Zagoria of NJ.com tweets. The incident occurred at the end of the Hawks’ 123-122 overtime win over the Bulls on Sunday. Young was inactive against Memphis on Monday.
The struggles of Max Strus, Gabe Vincent and Duncan Robinson have taken some of the shine off the Heat’s vaunted development program but all is not lost, Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel writes. Caleb Martin has developed from a two-way prospect to a steady rotation player and the development program has other potential success stories in Omer Yurtseven, Nikola Jovic and Jamal Cain.
Pacers wing Chris Duarte joined the G League’s Fort Wayne Mad Ants for practice on Monday and he’ll play for Fort Wayne against the Wisconsin Herd on Wednesday and Friday, Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files tweets. Duarte is working his way back from a Grade 2 ankle sprain suffered in early November.
Pacers rookie forward Kendall Brown is out indefinitely with a stress reaction in his right tibia, according to Dustin Dopirak of the Indianapolis Star. Brown will be reevaluated by the team in two weeks. Brown, a second-round pick, is one of the team’s two-way players. He’s appeared in six games with the Pacers.

Heat Notes: Butler, Martin, Jovic, Lowry, Highsmith

November 25th, 2022 at 7:54pm CST by Rory Maher

Friday marks Jimmy Butler‘s fifth consecutive absence due to right knee soreness, and he’s likely out Sunday at Atlanta as well. However, the expectation is that the 33-year-old forward will return for Wednesday’s game at Boston, according to Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel (free account required).

In addition to Butler, Duncan Robinson (left ankle sprain) and Max Strus (right shoulder impingement) continue to deal with their own injuries, Winderman notes. Robinson has now missed three straight, while Friday is Strus’ second straight missed game.

Here’s more on the Heat:

After signing a three-year, $20.4MM to remain with Miami in the offseason, forward Caleb Martin continues to make progress as a player, Winderman writes for The Sun Sentinel. “Caleb has grown and changed from what he was previously, before,” head coach Erik Spoelstra said. “I still think he’s going to have a game where he’ll be flirting with some triple-doubles, just the way he’s getting into dribble handoffs, the way he can get shooters open shots. There’s going to be one of those nights where he’s just going to fall into all of those being makes, and you’ll look up and he’s going to have eight assists with eight minutes to go in the fourth quarter. I told him the big thing is can he get 10 rebounds. I know he can get the points and assists. He has a knack for the ball, so he’s going to be able to get that as well.” The 27-year-old has hit his stride over the last six games (39.5 minutes), averaging 15.0 points, 6.2 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.2 blocks on .515/.452/.800 shooting.
Rookie Nikola Jovic has flashed intriguing potential as an injury-replacement starter, per Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald (subscriber link). The 19-year-old forward has a lot of work to do defensively, but the Heat are pleased with how he’s developing early on in 2022/23. “He has really good offensive instincts not only as a passer but as a screener, how to get into open spaces, how to execute different things and then his passing and his vision,” Spoelstra said. “As soon as he got here, that was probably his No. 1 strength — his ability to make other guys better. And he’s not afraid of the moment. So he’s comfortable out there, he’s earning the respect of everybody in the locker room and he’s earning his stripes right now.”
Miami continues to be ravaged by injuries, which is the primary reason the team has lost four of its last five games, but Kyle Lowry has been playing some of his best basketball in a Heat uniform, writes Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. Haywood Highsmith‘s defense and Martin’s all-around game have also been positives with Miami severely shorthanded, Jackson observes. The Heat are currently 8-11, the No. 12 seed in the East.

Injury Updates: Tatum, Herro, Barnes, Langford, More

November 23rd, 2022 at 6:20pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Celtics will have star forward Jayson Tatum on the court for tonight’s showdown with the Mavericks, according to Souichi Terada of MassLive.

Tatum was listed as questionable after hurting his left ankle in Monday’s game at Chicago, but coach Joe Mazzulla told reporters that he’ll be able to play without any limitations. Tatum appeared to be moving normally during shootaround, Terada observes.

Tatum is among the early favorites in the MVP race, averaging 30.2 points, 7.6 rebounds and 4.6 assists while playing 37.2 minutes per game, the most in his career. He has led Boston to the best start in the league at 13-4.

There’s more injury-related news to pass along:

Tyler Herro will return for the Heat tonight after missing eight games with a sprained left ankle, the team announced (via Twitter). Max Strus was downgraded to out due to a shoulder injury, according to Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald (Twitter link).
Raptors forward Scottie Barnes will miss tonight’s game with a sprained left knee, tweets Josh Lewenberg of TSN Sports. Fred VanVleet is sidelined with an illness, so Toronto is down to 10 available players.
Spurs guard Romeo Langford has been cleared to return tonight after missing five games while in the health and safety protocols. Josh Richardson will miss the game after suffering a sprained ankle in Tuesday’s practice (Twitter link), and Zach Collins has been downgraded from probable to out as he recovers from a non-displaced fracture of his fibula (Twitter link). Coach Gregg Popovich sounded optimistic when asked if Collins is close to returning. “Yes, I guess is the answer,” he replied. “He’s just not ready yet. We thought he might be, but he’s not.” Popovich also refused to provide any details about the illness that forced him to miss Sunday’s game, telling reporters, “I’m fine,” Orsborn tweets.
Dean Wade, who missed the past six games with knee soreness, will come off the Cavaliers‘ bench tonight and will be on a minutes restriction, according to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com (Twitter link).
Nets forward Yuta Watanabe will be sidelined through at least Friday with a hamstring issue, tweets Nick Friedell of ESPN. An MRI taken Tuesday night confirmed the injury (Twitter link), but Watanabe doesn’t seem concerned. “It’s not that serious,” he said. “… It’s day to day. We’ll see how long it takes.” (Twitter link)
Mavericks coach Jason Kidd is optimistic that Maxi Kleber, who’s dealing with a lower back contusion, will be available Saturday or Sunday, tweets Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News.

Begley’s Latest: Strus, Crowder, Hornets, Quickley, Grimes

November 12th, 2022 at 7:56am CST by Luke Adams

The Heat have repeatedly been cited as a potential suitor for Suns forward Jae Crowder, and Ian Begley of SNY.tv confirms that Miami has touched base with Phoenix about a possible deal. Begley hears from sources that some people in the Suns’ organization view Max Strus as a player who would have to be part of any Heat package for Crowder.

Like Crowder, Strus is on an expiring contract and will be an unrestricted free agent next summer. However, as Begley notes, the Heat would likely to be averse to moving the young swingman, who is on a minimum-salary contract and has established himself as an important piece of Miami’s rotation, averaging a career-high 14.2 PPG on .447/.359/.786 shooting in his first 12 games (32.2 MPG) this season.

Here’s more from Begley:

Gabe Plotkin and Daniel Sundheim, who own a minority stake in the Hornets, are open to selling a “sizable portion” of their share, Begley reports in the same story. Michael Jordan‘s stake in the Hornets would not be affected if the team’s minority shareholders were to sell most or all of their portion of the franchise.
The Knicks have received some early-season inquiries about potential trades involving guard Immanuel Quickley, sources tell Begley. While New York would probably be reluctant to move Quickley, rival teams look at a crowded Knicks rotation and believe the club will consider trading at least one young player before this season’s deadline, Begley explains.
Knicks wing Quentin Grimes, who has played just 32 total minutes in four games this season, continues to be viewed by head coach Tom Thibodeau as a “situational” player for the time being, according to Begley (Twitter links). “He’s missed a lot of time,” Thibodeau said. “So the conditioning part of that is part of that equation. As he gets opportunities, he’ll play more and more.”

Southeast Notes: Davis, Ball, Herro, Martin, Strus

November 6th, 2022 at 7:12pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Many lottery picks wouldn’t be thrilled about a G League assignment. The Wizards’ Johnny Davis has a different take, according to Josh Robbins of The Athletic.

Davis scored 13 points on 3-for-13 shooting in 26 minutes in his first outing for the Capital City Go-Go. He played 23 minutes and scored 17 points in his second G League game on Sunday.

The 10th overall pick is grateful to see so much court time.

“It was great to be able to finally play again,” Davis said. “Being with the Wizards, you always got to stay ready, but I’m glad they sent me down here so I can get some reps and just get that feeling back.”

Davis averaged six minutes in five NBA appearances before the assignment.

We have more from the Southeast Division:

LaMelo Ball could return this week from the left ankle sprain that has sidelined him since late in the preseason. His Hornets teammates are excited at the prospect of having their floor leader back, Roderick Boone of the Charlotte Observer writes. “Super excited, super anxious,” Kelly Oubre said. “I tell him every day I miss him on the court. You know, he’s another element to our team that is through the roof. You can’t put a matchup on him.”
Tyler Herro and Caleb Martin are still adjusting to their new roles as starters for the Heat, according to Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald. Herro is getting used to playing alongside other high-usage players, while Martin is getting most of his offensive opportunities around the 3-point line. “I think that’s what you need early on,” Martin said. “I think you need growing pains to figure things out and I’m glad we’re going through those now. It’s good to get that stuff out of the way, so you kind of nip a lot of stuff in the bud.”
Max Strus has only started three of 10 games for the Heat but he’s becoming an integral part of the closing unit, Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel notes. Strus has played the entire fourth quarter the past two games. “He does a lot of things for us defensively,” coach Erik Spoelstra said. “He can guard bigger guys. He can play really anywhere we want to in a zone. We also can put him in different matches in our man, and he’s really proficient, really good on the back side of our defense. And then offensively he’s just gaining confidence.”

Heat Notes: Spoelstra, Herro, Westbrook, Strus

October 31st, 2022 at 9:41pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Heat coach Erik Spoelstra believes the team will soon solve its offensive issues after losing five of its first seven games, Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald writes. The fact that they play six of the next seven games at home should help the Heat fix their problems.

“We’re closer than we are further away from it,” Spoelstra said. “But when you add losses to it, sometimes it can feel like you’re far away. But we’re not that far away.”

We have more on the Heat:

The issue regarding Tyler Herro is not whether he’s worthy of a starting role but rather if he’s better off as a sixth man, Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel opines. What the Heat have gotten so far from Herro is a player still finding his way in that role. Herro is averaging 19.9 points and 2.9 assists in seven starts, compared to 20.7 points and 4.0 assists last season while playing the same number of minutes.
Trading Kyle Lowry and Duncan Robinson to the Lakers for Russell Westbrook wouldn’t make any sense, given that the franchise is always focused on going deep in the playoffs, Winderman writes in a separate story. While Westbrook’s $47MM contract would come off the books next summer, that would only ease luxury tax concerns rather than opening up significant cap space.
Max Strus is headed for free agency next offseason and he’ll get a huge bump in salary wherever he winds up. A mid-level taxpayer deal is a likely scenario, according to an executive interviewed by Heavy.com’s Sean Deveney. Strus says he’s not sweating the details. “If you get caught up in that stuff, it affects your play so I try not to think about it. I just do my best and put myself in a position for good things to happen,” he said.

Heat Notes: Oladipo, Strus, Haslem, Adebayo

October 18th, 2022 at 12:47pm CST by Arthur Hill

There are health concerns regarding Victor Oladipo as the Heat prepare for their season opener, writes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. Oladipo was held out of today’s practice due to left knee tendonosis and may not be able to play Wednesday night. The team’s official injury report will be released later this afternoon.

Miami will proceed cautiously with Oladipo, who has undergone two surgeries on his right knee in a little more than three years. Even though this condition affects his other knee, there is speculation that it may be related to his injury history.

“When you really start to ramp it up, there’s still a little bit of overcompensation and a lot of load on the other leg,” coach Erik Spoelstra said. “Everybody downstairs feels like this is the normal process. I know how badly he wants to be out there right now. But we’re looking at this big picture still and we don’t want to skip steps. We want to make sure his body is feeling great and so things like this don’t linger.”

There’s more from Miami:

After earning a starting role in late March, Max Strus will have to get used to coming off the bench again, Chiang adds. Strus spent the preseason working on his fit with the reserves. “I would imagine I would be more aggressive in the second unit because I’m not playing with Jimmy (Butler), Kyle (Lowry), Bam (Adebayo). Maybe I’ll look for my shot a little more,” Strus said. “But I am still going to play the same way I always do, get everybody else involved and find my shots throughout the offense.”
Strus may be the only bench player with regular minutes every night, according to Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel. Roles for Dewayne Dedmon, Duncan Robinson and Haywood Highsmith could depend on matchups, and Spoelstra may go back and forth between Oladipo and Gabe Vincent in the backcourt. First-round pick Nikola Jovic will have to prove he’s ready to contribute right away.
Udonis Haslem has been the Heat’s inspirational leader for most of his 20-year career, but he’s getting ready to pass the torch, Chiang states in a separate story. As Haslem prepares for his final NBA season, the 42-year-old believes Adebayo is ready to take on that leadership role. “He can have it now. It’s time for him,” Haslem said. “… We’ve had these conversations about physically, vocally, emotionally. I think it’s time for him.”