NBA Rumors: Miami Heat Rotation Player "Most Likely" To Leave In Free Agency

The Miami Heat will have some decisions to make at the end of the season on the contract front. Fourth-year player Max Strus is now established as a rotation player, but he becomes an unrestricted free agent this summer. 

According to Sean Deveney of Heavy Sports, one NBA executive feels that Strus will "most likely" be on his way out of South Beach.

I think Strus is most likely gone because he will get a competitive offer, something around what Caleb Martin got (three years, $20 million). I don’t know that they want to pay him that. He has not shot that well this year, but he is clearly a really good rotation player in the NBA.

It's hard to gauge how rival teams would value Strus, who is averaging 11.7 points per game this season, up a point from last year. But his efficiency is down, as he's hitting on just 33.7% from beyond the arc, significantly worse than his 41% last season, while he's shooting just 40.2% overall from the field, a career-worst. 

He's started 28 games this season, and otherwise has been one of the first men off the bench for head coach Erik Spoelstra, playing 29 minutes a game over 71 contests. 

One team that had eyes on him at the trade deadline was the Minnesota Timberwolves, but whether their interest holds into the offseason remains to be seen.

The Heat have some serious money already accounted for next year, including Tyler Herro's rich new extension kicking in. Whether they would be willing to overpay to keep Strus should be an interesting storyline to follow in Miami.

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