BOSTON — Max Stross spent two seasons punishing defenders as a shooting guard at Lewis University, a Division II school in Romeoville, Illinois, before he delivered some news to his coach that wasn’t entirely unexpected: He wanted to transfer to major division programming.
For coach Scott Trost, it was bittersweet. He was sad to see Strouse go, but he also knew that Strouse was ready for his next challenge.
“And who is to say if he would be where he is today if he hadn’t made that move?” Trost said.
On Wednesday night, seven years after moving to DePaul and nearly four years after joining the NBA as an undrafted free agent, Strouss was a 3-pointer and a defensive tackle for the Miami Heat in their 123-116 win over the Celtics in Game 1 of Eastern Conference Finals.
But perhaps the oddest part of his unlikely presence is that he wasn’t a stranger at all – at least not to the Heat, who have nine Premier League players on their 17-man roster. On Wednesday, three of those players — Stross, Gabe Vincent and Caleb Martin — scored 15 points each as they teamed up to shoot 16-of-27 from the field.
Vincent, the team’s starting point guard, said, “I think it’s a unique thing that we’ve all been through, and we know how difficult that can be. So we just try to motivate each other and keep each other going.”
The Conference Finals coincided with pre-draft fanfare with the highest (and longest running) standings. On Tuesday, as NBA hopefuls began scurrying across Chicago for the league’s scouting pool, the San Antonio Spurs took first place in the draft, scheduled for June 22 at the Barclays Center.
Barring a cosmic catastrophe, the Spurs will pick Victor Wimpanyama, the 7-foot-4 French teen most famous since LeBron James. A talented player with size and skill, along with an innate sense of the game – yes, he really did Dunk missed his misses by 3 points Earlier this season – Wimpanyama could be a transformative force for Tottenham.
But beyond Wimpanyama and the rest of this year’s draft picks, teams have another roster-building option at their disposal: casting a pool of non-referees, a strategy that has proven increasingly fruitful as basketball continues to expand its global reach and talent increases. Surface.
“When you’re in that position, you’re willing to do anything,” said Martin, who was an all-conference player at Nevada but went undrafted in 2019. “And I think more teams are starting to appreciate that.”
Keep in mind that 126 uncredited players, representing about a quarter of the league, have found their way onto NBA rosters this season. But no team has leaned on ghosting, neglect, and humiliation more than the Heat, with non-drafted players scoring a league-high 33.8 percent of a team’s points during the regular season, according to NBA Stats. The Nets were second in that category, with freefield players accounting for 24 percent of the team’s points.
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra noted that two of his best players — Bam Adebayo and Tyler Hero, who have both been sidelined with a broken hand since the first round — were high first-round picks. Forward Jimmy Butler, who was outstanding on Wednesday, and collected 35 points, 7 assists and 6 steals, joined the team in a signing and trade to the Philadelphia 76ers in 2019. But he was a late first-round pick, by Chicago, in 2011. In other words, Heat is like the superstars of popular brands, too.
Some teams, like Oklahoma City and San Antonio, have stockpiled draft picks through trades, but the Heat has not. Instead, Spoelstra said, the team had to get creative with how it filled out its roster. Many not-so-famous Miami players have emerged through its G League affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce. Spoelstra said that players in League G or from outside are often as talented as some of the NBA’s reserves.
“It’s all about timing and fitness, what consistency a player has,” he said, adding, “If you have a big dream and want to take a challenge, we feel this could be a place for a lot of those players.”
And if Spoelstra needs any help gauging (or cementing) that consistency, he can turn to Udonis Haslem, a solid forward who went bunless in 2002, spent his first professional season in France and joined the Heat the following year. Now 42, Haslem has been with Miami ever since.
“I think organizations do a better job of doing their homework and not just assuming, because the guy isn’t recruited, that he can’t help you win,” Haslem said. “You can’t measure character, discipline, or accountability in a draft group, and sometimes a lot of those things get overlooked.”
Haslem has played sparingly in recent seasons, but wields enormous clout in the locker room, including being the dean of undrafted ones. Those new to the team get a one-on-one chat with Haslem, who tells them about his three championship rings and how anything is possible. But they better be ready for action, because Haslem will be watching.
“I take it personally when an unmade man comes here,” he said. “I want them to be successful because I feel like that’s part of my legacy.”
His legacy now includes the likes of Vincent, who Anterior cruciate ligament rupture in his left knee as a junior at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He was early in his rehabilitation when Joe Pasternak was hired as the team’s new head coach.
“The first call I got,” Pasternak said, “was from Gabe Vincent saying, ‘Coach, tell me what you want me to do. Do you want me to call the players? Organizing a team meeting? That made an impression.”
Vincent returned in uniform at the start of his senior season. But after averaging just 12.4 points a game, he was relegated to the G-League with the Stockton Kings. A few weeks into Vincent’s first season there, Pasternak had an opportunity for a full-time assistant and was offered the job. Pasternak believed in Vincent as a player, but he also knew he was grinding without any guarantees.
“I just saw a lot of kids in the G League not going anywhere,” Pasternak said. “But I also thought he was such an incredible leader that he would make a great assistant coach.”
Vincent politely declined the offer.
“I was kind of like, ‘Joe, what are you talking about? “I don’t know why he keeps telling that story, and I told him that: ‘Joe, that doesn’t make you look good!’”
Vincent signed a two-way deal with the Heat during the 2019-20 season and slowly began working his way up into the rotation. He averaged a career high 9.4 points a game this season. He is set to earn a big paycheck this summer as an unrestricted free agent.
Strouss thought he could one day make a living playing basketball in Europe. That was the goal when he was at Lewis University. His mindset changed until his second day on campus after transferring to DePaul. Dave Lettau, who was then the team’s coach, told him he could have a future in the NBA
“It was huge,” said Strouss. “I’ve never been told that in my life.”
As a first-year pro during the 2019-20 season, Strus was cut by the then Celtics Left ACL tore in a match with the Windy City Bulls of the G League. He signed a two-way deal with the Heat the following season. On Wednesday, he grabbed the final rebound of the game.
“I took advantage of every opportunity they gave me here,” he said.