Appearing on ESPN Cleveland (YouTube link), Brian Windhorst says he views Cavaliers veteran Max Strus as a possible trade candidate as the team looks to move under the second tax apron. A cost-cutting measure along those lines could also help the team free up enough money to re-sign free agent forward Dean Wade, which is said to be a priority for the Cavs.
“I would keep an eye on Max Strus,” Windhorst said (hat tip to Kurt Helin of NBC Sports). “Dean Wade is going to be expensive, I think more expensive than the Cavs were hoping. I think Keon Ellis could be gone unless they lose Dean Wade. If they lose Dean Wade, I think they re-engineer the concept of [re-signing] Keon Ellis.
“Max Strus is extension-eligible, has one year [and $16.7MM] left on his contract. I want to see if the Cavs are extending Max Strus or if they have to trade Max Strus. And the reason you would trade Max Strus is so that you could potentially afford to keep Dean Wade.”
As Windhorst explains, the logic behind trading Strus is that he would hold appeal on the open market and the Cavs have a player at a similar size and position in Jaylon Tyson. The team doesn’t have a forward at Wade’s size who can play all three frontcourt spots, Windhorst notes.
Windhorst suggests the Cavs’ preferred route would be to salary-dump Dennis Schröder‘s contract, but he’s skeptical they’ll have much luck on that front. The German guard is owed $14.8MM next season and $15.5MM in ’27/28, though only $4.4MM of the ’27/28 salary is guaranteed.
“I think they’re going to try to trade Dennis Schröder to ease that [financial] burden,” Windhorst said. “Whether or not they can trade Dennis Schröder and whether or not they can trade Dennis Schröder in a way that offloads money, that’s a different thing.”
Here’s more on the Cavaliers:
- If the Cavs are unable to re-sign Wade before league-wide free agency opens on June 30, he’s expected to draw interest from multiple playoff teams, including the Sixers, according to Marc Stein and Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Substack link). Stein and Fischer continue to hear Wade is expected to receive a “sizable portion” of the non-taxpayer mid-level exception, which is projected to start at about $15MM next season and be worth up to $64.7MM over four years.
- Stein and Fischer confirm defensive wing Ellis is unlikely to re-sign with Cleveland unless the team loses Wade in free agency. They hear the Nets could be interested in Ellis, who has a preexisting relationship with head coach Jordi Fernandez dating back to their time together in Sacramento.
