The Miami Heat signed Max Strus to a two-year contract this offseason. The guard, who was on a two-way deal with the Heat last year, has shown some real promise.
He balled out in Summer League this season, leading the team in scoring. He shot around 40% from deep this summer while averaging over 11 attempts per game.
Strus has the potential to become a legitimate piece in Miami’s rotation this season. He and Duncan Robinson can be a lethal one-two punch from behind the three-point line.
Miami clearly likes Strus, and based on some stories, so do his teammates. Apparently, he worked hard all last season to ensure that Jimmy Butler would respect him.
The young guard was on the Five On The Floor podcast recently, hosted by Five Reasons Sports. He told his story, including how he got close to Butler last season.
"“I played one on one with Jimmy [Butler] before every game. That’s like his thing – he likes to play one-on-one. It would be me, him, and Udonis Haslem. We would just get Jimmy reps. Whatever he needed, we were there. Play defense. Whatever he wanted.”"
Imagine being willing to go at it with Butler before every game. Based on the stories from his Minnesota days, it doesn’t seem like it would be all sunshine and rainbows.
Helping Butler get warm and in the zone before every game was clearly Strus’ way of earning his respect. He wanted Butler to trust him and respect him as a basketball player, and as a person.
Strus went on to talk about how Butler wants to constantly be pushed. He doesn’t want anyone taking it easy on him at any point.
"“Jimmy likes people who play hard and have a chip on their shoulder and just want to win. So as much as he was going at me, I was going right back at him. So I think that might have gained a little trust and a little respect there just to not back down to anybody in that situation. So I think that definitely had something to do with it.”"
Being able to go toe to toe with Butler is no easy task. Strus definitely got pushed around, beaten up, and trash-talked during his one-on-one sessions with Butler.
From the sounds of it, though, he made sure to give everything right back to Butler. That sort of attitude seems like one that Butler would not only respect, but love to be around.
Hopefully, Strus can bring some of that same fire into this season. His shooting could be a game-changer for the Miami Heat off the bench.