On the morning of Dec. 21, 2019, then-Chicago Bulls head coach Jim Boylen gathered his staff for a routine meeting. His 12-19 team was in dire need of spacing. The franchise's minor-league affiliate was set to square off against the Lakeland Magic at the annual G League Showcase in Las Vegas. And following that matchup, Boylen declared, Chicago planned to recall two-way rookie Max Strus, a sweet-shooting swingman who'd gone undrafted from DePaul. The Bulls planned to dedicate significant development opportunity to the local kid. Plenty of minutes. Plenty of shots. Plenty of room to make mistakes.
Miami Heat guard Max Strus shoots as Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert defends during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Monday, Dec. 26, 2022, in Miami. The Heat won 113-110. On the morning of Dec. 21, 2019, then-Chicago Bulls head coach Jim Boylen gathered his staff for a routine meeting. His 12-19 team was in dire need of spacing. The franchise’s minor-league affiliate was set to square off against the Lakeland Magic at the annual G League Showcase in Las Vegas.
Few NBA careers begin at the likes of Division II Lewis University in Romeoville, Illinois, and then survive a year on the sidelines rehabbing a torn ACL. Fringe prospects can age in dog years before the scouting community. At 23, Strus had already been cut from the Celtics’ training camp that fall. The Bulls hadn’t given Strus an inkling of interest, hadn’t hosted him for a pre-draft workout before swooping in and claiming him off waivers.
He was just searching for a litmus test, fully expecting to return to school for his senior season. “As a young kid trying to make the NBA, you want to at least try,” Strus said. The staff was convinced Strus could get drafted within the first two days. He was the most effective shooter on the floor in full-court, five-on-five battles.
His strong senior season didn’t result in a draft selection, either. But Strus joined Boston on a two-way contract for Summer League and into training camp — and the basket looked like an ocean. He splashed 45% of his triples over four July games and carried his efficiency into the preseason. When his deal was converted to a standard training camp contract, it could have been seen as a vote of confidence.
The Bulls, though, no longer presented his safe haven. Gone was Boylen and the front office that hired him. Chicago ownership named Arturas Karnisovas its lead executive and he named Billy Donovan as head coach. Timing can be everything in a business made in moments. Despite Strus’ progress, Chicago didn’t look to retain Strus when free agency began that August. “They saw me working, they saw that I was getting healthy again,” Strus said. “I worked with them every single day.
Strus and Vincent mark the latest in a long line of Heat development success stories. Both have ebbed and flowed in and out of Miami’s lineup and delivered often when called upon, like Udonis Haslem and Joel Anthony and Duncan Robinson before them.
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