Cleveland Cavaliers shooting guard Max Strus has announced his departure from the team, stating that he “can’t see the future anymore” with the Cavaliers. Strus made the announcement during a press conference, explaining that after discussions with his family and representatives, he decided it was time to seek new opportunities and challenges. He expressed gratitude for the support from the organization, coaches, teammates, and fans during his tenure with the team.​Â
Strus, who joined the Cavaliers in a high-profile trade, quickly became a key contributor with his scoring ability and perimeter shooting. His departure leaves a significant gap in the team’s backcourt as they navigate the competitive Eastern Conference. The Cavaliers issued a statement thanking Strus for his contributions and wishing him success in his future endeavors​.
This move has surprised fans and analysts, who are now speculating about the impact on the team’s performance and the potential changes in their strategy going forward.
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The Cavaliers believe they have made Isaac Okoro several fair offers.
According to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com, the Cleveland Cavaliers believe they have made Isaac Okoro, a restricted free agent, many fair offers.
The Cavaliers can now concentrate on other things as the summer progresses because they have already extended the contracts of franchise mainstays Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley this offseason.
After the Cavaliers selected Okoro with the fifth overall choice in the 2020 NBA Draft, he has played his first four seasons in the league with them.
Fedor claims that the Cavaliers have also looked at sign-and-trade scenarios for Okoro, but they haven’t found any that appeal to them enough to make a move.
During the 2023–24 regular season, Okoro averaged 9.4 points, 3.0 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 0.8 steals, and 0.5 blocks per game while starting 42 of his 69 games for the Cavaliers.
After four seasons in the professional ranks, the 23-year-old showed improvement as a 3-point shooter. In each game, Okoro tried 3.1 3-pointers and made a career-high 39.1% of his deep shots. In addition, he continued to play excellent defence, for which he is well-known.
Whether Okoro has demonstrated enough to be chosen with a top-five choice in the 2020 NBA Draft is still up for dispute.
After all, he didn’t play a significant role in the Cavaliers’ 2024 NBA Playoff run, despite having a successful regular season. Despite playing in every one of Cleveland’s 12 postseason games, Okoro only managed 5.5 points, 1.8 rebounds, and 1.1 assists per game on 35.7 percent shooting from the field and 25.7 percent from 3-point range.
Granted, he did get the Cavaliers’ second-round series against the Boston Celtics off to a strong offensive start. He scored 11 points in the first game of the best-of-seven series, and then 12 points in the second.
However, during that two-game window, Okoro’s offensive performance throughout the playoffs was at its peak. The Cavaliers were defeated in a gentleman’s sweep by the Boston Celtics, who went on to win the 2024 NBA title, because he failed to score more than five points in any of the final three games of the series versus Boston.
