The Resilient Journey of Max Strus: From Injury to Starting for the Miami Heat

On the morning of Dec. 21, 2019, then-Chicago Bulls head coach Jim Boylen called his staff for a routine meeting. The Bulls with a current record of 12-19 urgently need room for adjustment. At that time, the Bulls coaching team chose to find young available soldiers from the Development League. After the Windy City Bulls played against the Lakeland Magic, Boylen announced plans to recall two-way rookie Max Strus. The Bulls program provides developmental opportunities for locally born children.

Strus didn’t get too emotional about the news, he remained focused on his training; on what he could control. The Windy City Bulls coach believes that ignorance leads to happiness. Sadly, that night, Strus was completely paralyzed with his knee because he did a Eurostep against a defender. A night that provided a springboard for Strus’ career sent his entire dream racing toward collapse.

“I think it’s the end of the road,” Strus told The Athletic. “You don’t know if your time is up or if you’re going to get another chance. I knew from the start how hard it was to get a chance.”

Rarely does an NBA career start at Division II Lewis University in Romeoville, Illinois, then spend a year on the sidelines repairing a torn ACL. A fringe prospect might be years ahead of the scouting community. That fall, the 23-year-old Strus was cut from the Celtics’ training camp. The Bulls showed little interest in Strus or hosted him in pre-draft workouts, yet the sudden opportunity to start his career in his hometown of Chicago, despite being cut short by injury, was also a saving grace.

Where Strus is now, a solid starter for the Miami Heat. The Heat signed Strus 11 months after his injury, and he has gone from rotation fringe to Miami mainstay. “I’m finding myself a little more comfortable here,” Strus said. “But I’ve got to pick myself up pretty quickly and get back into the mindset of expressing gratitude and being happy to be here every day because that’s what got me here.”

Interestingly, Strus made his NBA debut against the Miami Heat, who were also interested in his impressive ability to move the ball and run around screens.

And recalling that before the draft, Strus participated in a pre-draft training program hosted by several G League coaches who toured Florida in the spring of 2018. Although Kevin Knox and other lottery rookies are assisted by ace agents, in the face of huge fees, Strus’ father is still obliged to pay the fee for his son’s dream.

As a kid who dreamed of being in the NBA, you gotta at least try

In that training program, Strus was an effective shooter among all five teams. And when Strus asked for honest feedback, several coaches told him they saw the next Joe Harris, albeit a second-round pick, trying to mold himself into the Brooklyn Nets’ leading dangerous shooter.

Now it seems that Strus’s height is much better than Joe Harris. However, in his early student days, the Chicago area itself was a big basketball city, so it was difficult for him to be recognized by scouts due to the large number of talents. In the end, only one Division-I school, the little-known Chicago State University (Chicago State), was willing to provide him with a scholarship. . In this case, Strus chose to go to the second-level Lewis University to hone. In the second year, Strus surpassed the second grade, averaging 20.2 points, 8.4 rebounds and 3.5 assists. His outstanding performance not only made him selected as the first team of the year in the division, but also was nominated as the first team of the Division-II in the United States.

The good performance in the second level also led the first-level school to find him again. Later, he chose DePaul University’s Strus. Because of the NCAA transfer regulations, he had to sit in the ball for a year. Known as the five major divisions, but there is still a long way to go from the dream.

“It was like the last step,” Strus recalled before the draft. But his stellar senior season didn’t lead to a draft pick, but Strus joined Boston on a two-way deal for summer league and training camp — and the rim looked as wide as an ocean. He shot 45% of his three-pointers in four games in July, and his good performance also earned him a training camp contract and was brought into the preseason by the Celtics.

It’s a pity that he was still not on the roster of the Green Army’s opening season. Brad Stevens finally left the two-way contract places to Tacko Fall and Javonte Green. Reimbursed for the season and only played two games in Chicago in his rookie year, he seems to be a player who is about to be replaced by the torrent of NBA competition.