Jarrett Allen: We see the seeds being planted, so we’re gonna have something special here

As vital as Donovan Mitchell is for the Cavaliers’ success, Jarrett Allen is almost as crucial for the team. Now in his seventh year, the Texas native is hoping to help anchor the Cavaliers frontline to make a deep playoff run. After hosting 25 …

As vital as Donovan Mitchell is for the Cavaliers’ success, Jarrett Allen is almost as crucial for the team. Now in his seventh year, the Texas native is hoping to help anchor the Cavaliers frontline to make a deep playoff run.

After hosting 25 students at a recent home game, the 2022 All-Star talked with HoopsHype about his recent injury, the foundation of his team, his Thanksgiving event, and more.

Projected starting lineup for the Cavaliers with Max Strus after sign-and-trade with Heat

Max Strus has reportedly agreed to a four-year, $64 million deal to sign with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Max Strus has reportedly agreed to a four-year, $63 million deal with the Cleveland Cavaliers after a sign-and-trade with the Heat, per ESPN.

Miami landed Cedi Osman, Lamar Stevens and two second-round picks in the three-team deal that involved the Spurs.

Strus is a 6-foot-5, 27-year-old wing who was an essential piece for the Miami Heat during their run to win the Eastern Conference in 2022-23. He started all 23 games that Miami played during the postseason.

The former undrafted free agent is a very smart pickup because Cleveland connected on the third-fewest 3-pointers per game (10.0) among all teams in the postseason, via NBA.com. Only four players in the league attempted more 3-pointers than Strus (135) during the playoffs.

Here is what the rotation will likely look like for Cleveland with Strus in the mix:

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Max Strus listed as ‘top 2023 free agency target’ for Chicago Bulls

Max Strus would be a great addition for the Chicago Bulls in free agency this summer.

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Next season will be a huge one for the Chicago Bulls, who dropped the ball this past year. After snapping a four-year playoff drought in the 2021-22 season, the Bulls fell back out of the playoffs this past season, getting bounced in the play-in tournament by the Miami Heat, who went on to win the Eastern Conference.

With the Bulls hoping to avoid a rebuild, they need to put together a competitive season. To do that, Chicago needs to add talent around the core of Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan and Nikola Vucevic this summer.

According to Dan Favale of Bleacher Report, the Bulls’ top target in free agency this offseason should be Heat wing Max Strus.

“Shooting, playmaking and an upgraded center rotation rank as the Chicago Bulls’ most pressing offseason priorities,” Favale wrote. “In a perfect world, they’d address at least two of those in the same player.

“Good luck with that.

“Team governor Jerry Reinsdorf is notoriously cheap, and the Bulls will start fretting about the luxury tax depending on what they do with Ayo Dosunmu (Early Bird restricted) and Coby White restricted) after inking Nikola Vučević to a three-year, $60 million extension. Free agents who might sign for the bigger MLE are the right combination of plausible and ambitious.

“Bagging Max Strus would be a home run.

“His 3-point efficiency dropped to 35% this season and slipped even further in the postseason (31.9%). But those clips came amid a steady diet of pull-ups and off-motion looks, on volume for which Chicago should endlessly lust (nearly nine attempts per 36 minutes during the regular season).”

For a team that struggled as much behind the 3-point line as the Bulls did this past year, Strus would be a great get.

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Five Boston Celtics alumni on the move in 2019 NBA redraft

Five Celtics alumni ended up seeing their draft stock shift considerably with the benefit of hindsight lifting their fortunes.

With Hoops Hype’s Frank Urbina and Raul Barrigon busy reassessing the draft orders of the last several decades over the last few years, there are always a number of Boston Celtics alumni on the move in their re-drafts as a result.

In the H/H duo’s reassessment of the NBA’s 2019 draft class, a total of five Celtics alumni ended up seeing their draft stock shift considerably with the benefit of hindsight lifting their fortunes. And while they won’t see any pay raises or anything else of that sort given the fictitious nature of such an exercise, it’s also nice to see this duo get their flowers, too.

Let’s take a look at which Boston alumni landed where.

Max Strus grew up on Jimmy Butler, Derrick Rose-led Chicago Bulls

Miami Heat guard Max Strus recently revealed that he grew up watching the Derrick Rose and Jimmy Butler-led Chicago Bulls.

Through the years, the Chicago Bulls have fielded plenty of competitive teams. They haven’t won a championship since Michael Jordan skipped town, but one iteration of the team did make it back to the Eastern Conference finals: the Derrick Rose-led Bulls. In the 2010-11 season, Rose and his Bulls made it to the conference finals before losing to the Miami Heat.

Not long after, Jimmy Butler joined the party, and while they were making their playoff runs, a whole generation of hoopers were watching. And that includes some players who went on to play for the Bulls. One of those guys was Max Strus.

During an appearance on NBC Sports Chicago’s Football Night in Chicago, Strus spoke about how he grew up watching Rose and Butler while living in Hickory Hills, Illinois.

“When I was a kid growing up in Chicago, him and Derrick Rose were my favorite players to watch,” Strus said. “To be able to be on his team and share this journey of his career has been nothing short of astonishing. Just so happy to be here and so happy to help him.”

Strus spent time on the Bulls during the 2019-20 season on a two-way deal before suffering from a torn ACL. He moved on from Chicago after recovering and was scooped up by the Heat. Now, he’s thriving.

The 27-year-old wing is one of the crucial pieces on a Miami team that’s in the NBA Finals. He grew up watching the Bulls, played for the Bulls, and now he’s teammates with Butler.

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Multiple members of the Heat give love, respect to Sixers’ PJ Tucker

Multiple members of the Miami Heat give their love and respect to Philadelphia 76ers veteran PJ Tucker.

PHILADELPHIA–The Philadelphia 76ers made the move in the offseason to go out and PJ Tucker in free agency and sign him to a 3-year $33 million deal early in the free agency period. The Sixers wanted to bring in the tough-minded veteran in order to help push them over the top.

Tucker spent the 2021-22 season with the Miami Heat and he had a big year for them. He averaged 7.6 points and 5.5 rebounds along with 2.1 assists while shooting 41.5% from deep and 48.4% from the floor.

In Wednesday’s 101-99 loss to those Heat, Tucker had eight points and he was 2-for-2 on corner triples. His former Heat teammates had a lot to say as they gave love and respect to what Tucker brings to the table.

Ranking the 11 best players on a minimum contract

HoopsHype ranks the 11 best NBA players on minimum contracts in the 2022-23 NBA seasons, including multiple Lakers.

In the NBA, teams that perform at the highest level often have players who exceed expectations and produce at a high level while on team-friendly, cost-effective contracts.

With that in mind, we’re going to examine the top 11 most productive players currently on minimum-salary contracts for the 2022-23 season.

As you will, the list features multiple Los Angeles Lakers players, which is quite a turnaround compared to last season, when they had multiple inefficient minimum guys. It’s safe to say most – if not all – of these players will be on better contracts next year.

Max Strus on his DII start, path to the NBA through the Boston Celtics and more

When he was a member of the Boston Celtics, Miami Heat reserve shooting guard Max Strus made a strong connection with interim head coach Joe Mazzulla.

When he was a member of the Boston Celtics, Miami Heat shooting guard Max Strus made a strong connection with interim head coach Joe Mazzulla while the latter was an assistant for Boston. Both Mazzulla and Strus started college playing at a Division II school, giving them a common point of reference, Strus told the Celtics Wire in an interview last month.

The former Celtic recently sat down with host Sean Daley of the “Fansided” podcast to talk about his path through the NCAA, why colleges slept on recruiting him, his path to the NBA, facing the Celtics in the postseason and much more.

To hear more about what got the former DePaul player to the league he is thriving in, and how his game has been shaped by each of his stops in the league, take a look at the clip embedded below to hear it all in full.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

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Celtics alum Max Strus on Joe Mazzulla’s coaching, their bond, Marcus Smart’s DPOY award and more

The Celtics Wire caught up with the DePaul alum in Mexico City ahead of his Heat’s tilt with the Spurs for the Mexico City Games.

It’s been a hot minute since Miami Heat wing Max Strus has been a member of the Boston Celtics, but the DePaul alum still remembers his time with the team well despite its comparative brevity. The Celtics Wire caught up with Strus in Mexico City this week as the Heat shooting guard met with the press ahead of Miami’s tilt with the San Antonio Spurs at Mexico City Arena for the first Mexico City Game since before the start of the pandemic.

Strus had spent some time walking around the lush Polanco neighborhood — one of the wealthier areas of the city — as he settled into the local surroundings. “It’s very beautiful,” he related.

“It’s nice to be out in the streets, to explore and sight-see a little bit”

Takeaways: Kevin Porter Jr., Jalen Green flourish, but Alperen Sengun struggles in loss to Miami

Kevin Porter Jr. and Jalen Green played well, but the Rockets struggled to overcome a bad night by Alperen Sengun in Monday’s loss at Miami. Here’s our look at the key takeaways.

Houston’s starting backcourt of Kevin Porter Jr. (21 points, 6 assists) and Jalen Green (25 points, 5 assists) played well Monday, but starting center Alperen Sengun struggled in his preseason return as the Miami Heat defeated the visiting Rockets, 118-110 (box score).

Sengun, who missed Friday’s win due to a dental procedure, had just 2 points and 4 rebounds on 1-of-5 shooting (20.0%) while fouling five times in only 17 minutes. His struggles helped Miami erase an early 16-point lead by the Rockets, who came out firing behind Porter and Green. The backcourt mates combined to hit 14-of-31 shots (45.2%) in 28 minutes apiece, including 8-of-17 on 3-pointers (47.1%).

Rookie forward Tari Eason continued to play well off Houston’s bench, registering 17 points and 12 rebounds in 28 minutes while making 8-of-11 shots (72.7%) from the field. Third-year forward KJ Martin continued to shine in the absence of several rotation regulars with 13 points and 4 assists in 28 minutes, all while shooting 5-of-9 overall (55.6%) and 3-of-6 on 3-pointers (50.0%).

Jabari Smith Jr. (left ankle sprain), Eric Gordon (rest), Daishen Nix (lower back soreness) and head coach Stephen Silas (health and safety protocols) were not part of Monday’s action for the Rockets, while Jae’Sean Tate left early with right ankle soreness.

With Silas missing a second straight exhibition, lead assistant John Lucas again filled in as Houston’s acting head coach.

On the other side, Caleb Martin (right knee tendinitis), Tyler Herro (right knee contusion), and Omer Yurtseven (left ankle soreness) were out injured for the Heat. Miami also chose to hold out veterans Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo, and Kyle Lowry for rest purposes.

Among those playing, veteran wing Max Strus led Miami with 24 points in 24 minutes, including 5-of-10 on 3-pointers (50.0%). Rookie Nikola Jovic was impressive off the bench with 15 points, 12 rebounds, and 4 assists, including several minutes in a direct matchup with Sengun. Miami was +24 in Jovic’s 23 minutes, best of any player.

Scroll on for postgame interviews, clips, and analysis. The Rockets (2-1) will conclude their preseason schedule on Friday at Indiana, while Miami (3-1) wraps up by hosting New Orleans on Wednesday.