Miami Heat guard Max Strus explained what makes the Heat organization so different from other NBA teams on a recent episode of “The Long Shot” podcast, which is hosted by his Heat teammate Duncan Robinson.
“It’s definitely tough to get an opportunity to showcase what you can do,” Strus said of being undrafted. “Here though, it’s different. I came into training camp last year, I was on an Exhibit 10, and I was coming off an ACL injury. So, I was like, ‘I’ll probably get some minutes here and there in practice or get some reps.’
“But it’s a whole different animal here. I mean they just let you play. They let you do everything. I mean, the first day of training camp, Chris Quinn pulled me aside after I passed up a shot and he was like, ‘Dude what the hell are you doing?’
Strus explained that he passed up shots to get the ball to Heat star Jimmy Butler, but he was told that he had a different role.
“He was like, ‘Nah dude, you’re here to shoot. If you’re open, you shoot the goddamn ball,’” Strus said. “Every time I was open after that, I shot.”
Having a lot of trust in undrafted players has allowed the Heat to land Strus and Robinson.
Strus appeared in 39 games last season for Miami. He averaged 6.1 points, 1.1 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game.
A pure shooter, Strus shot 45.5 percent from the field and 33.8 percent from 3-point range during the 2020-21 season.