Key Heat role player thought he’d make the Boston Celtics before being cut

Max Strus thought he’d be a member of the Boston Celtics back in 2019 following his signing of a two-way contract with the franchise — saying as much to Heavy’s Sean Deveney in a piece published on May 18.

“I did. Obviously, I got a two-way (with Boston) on draft night so I thought they thought very highly of me,” Strus prefaced before saying, “I had a good camp and Danny Ainge and Brad Stevens said it was one of the hardest decisions they had to make but at the end of the day it is a business and I understand that.”

Strus wound up with the Chicago Bulls but appeared in just two games during the 2019-20 season. It was with the Miami Heat that he became a starter, having started every game in the postseason the past two years.

Max Strus continues to exact revenge on the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals

Strus is about to get a major payday the Boston Celtics couldn’t give him the opportunity to receive during the 2023 offseason, and until he gets there, he is going to continue to exact revenge on the team that let him go in favor of Tacko Fall. And not the Fall that has dominated in China over the last six months, to be clear.

In Game 1 of the 2023 Eastern Conference Finals, Strus went for 15 points on 6/10 shooting overall and 3/5 shooting from the 3-point line. This follows a 2022 Eastern Conference Finals against Boston in which he had three double-digit scoring games, and more recently, an Eastern Conference Semifinals series against the New York Knicks in which he scored at least 14 points in five of six games.

The Celtics would be better off with Strus in the rotation right now with a clear need behind Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown on the wing. Perhaps a free agent reunion this summer could right several wrongs from years past.

The only problem? Strus may be worth more than the MLE, which is the only means the Cs have to sign him.