The Miami Heat are certainly not sweating a tiny little second-round pick this week. They just won the Giannis Antetokounmpo sweepstakes. They have bigger fish to fry and mighty conferences to win.
For some in the organization, however, it had to hurt just a little when the 54th pick in the draft was announced Wednesday night by NBA Deputy Commissioner Mark Tatum. The Golden State Warriors used the pick to take Florida State Lajae Jones from right up the road.
That pick once belonged to the Miami Heat, their only return from a sign-and-trade that sent Max Strus to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Given what has happened since, it stands out as a paltry return for such a good player.
The Heat gave up on Max Strus
Rewind the tape back to July of 2023, when the Heat were coming off a run to the NBA Finals. That unexpected run was keyed by a number of players who were graduates of Heat University, including Gabe Vincent and Max Strus.
Both players hit free agency, and the Heat made the decision not to pay them at market value. If they had taken them from the scrap heap and turned them into starters, then they could do it again with other players.
They made the right call with Vincent, who battled injuries and regression over the next few years. But with Max Strus, they may have made a mistake.
Strus had a market at the mid-level exception, but the Cavaliers offered a slightly larger contract -- but only if the Heat would play ball and execute a sign-and-trade. For their part in the departure of Strus, they received back one single second-round pick, originally owned by the Los Angeles.
While he has battled injuries of his own since arriving in Cleveland, Strus has also maintained his level of play. He is a high-volume movement shooter, an incredible weapon in the modern NBA, and is the team's best two-way wing. His competitive edge has been sorely needed on a team that often lacks it.
Miami has had to feel the hurt of his loss in a number of ways, both in their own failures to truly replace his role on the team and in their team failures at the hands of a Cavaliers team that now has their number. And the pain that they didn't get more back from letting him go.
The Heat got back just one second-round pick
All the Heat had to show for letting Strus go -- they could certainly have paid him what the Cavaliers did if they chose to prioritize him -- was a single second-round pick, held by a team that has stars fall from the sky to land in a Lakers uniform. It was probably always going to be in the latter parts of the second round.
It ultimately landed at 54th, although by that time it was long gone. The Heat traded it to the Toronto Raptors in February of 2025 in exchange for Davion Mitchell. That certainly worked out for the Heat, as Mitchell has become their starting point guard. Toronto flipped the pick to the Warriors, who used it on Wednesday night.
Would Miami love to have Strus on the roster right now? Probably so. He is the perfect 3-and-D wing to have in a playoff rotation. For now, however, they will focus on building a team around Giannis Antetokounmpo.
And try to ignore that slight twinge they felt when the 54th pick was announced and the Max Strus trade was finally complete.
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