MIAMI — There was a time when Max Strus thought a playoff series in Miami in April in 2025 would come in a Heat uniform. Then the money got in the way.

The result has been Strus in opposing Cleveland Cavaliers colors over the past week, offering the type of grit against the Heat that he previously offered in the Heat’s 2023 run to the NBA Finals.

When it came to 2023 free agency and the Heat’s position hard against the salary cap and luxury tax, the upshot was the Heat wishing their developmental project well, without a counter offer, once Strus received his four-year, $62.3 million contract from the Cavaliers.

Shortly thereafter, Strus told the Sun Sentinel, “I think a little bit of me was kind of thinking I was going back, somehow, some way it was going to work out. But when you really get down to the business side of it and look at numbers and things like that, it’s cut and dried that you’re not going to come back.”

So Strus did with the Cavaliers just as he did when he joined the Heat in Nov. 2020 as an undrafted prospect out of DePaul, emerging as a glue player, in this case also helping drive the Cavaliers to this season’s No. 1 East seed.

Once again, it has been a case of respect earned.

“He does all the dirty work,” Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson said, as his team turned its attention to Monday night’s Game 4 against the Heat at Kaseya Center. “When you have superstars — we kind of have four — who’s going to set the screens? Who’s going to attack the offensive boards? He’s that ultimate role player that you need around great players, and he fits that to a T.”

It is among the reasons Strus emerged as a starter alongside Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen.

“I’m not sure if you throw a high-volume scorer in there with that team that it works,” Atkinson continued.

From the Heat’s run to those 2023 NBA Finals, Strus is positioned for something similar in his second season with the Cavaliers.

“There’s leadership there,” the Cavaliers’ Mitchell said. “You know, everybody talks about my leadership, but we don’t really give Max enough credit. He really leads by action. He doesn’t necessarily speak a lot, but you know when he does, we listen.

“He’s continuing to be the reason why we’re continuing to do big things.”

Instead of retaining Strus and Gabe Vincent in 2023 free agency, the Heat added center Thomas Bryant and guard Josh Richardson on veteran-minimum deals, with both since cast aside.

Strus is earning $15.2 million this season, less than the Heat are paying Duncan Robinson ($19.4 million) and Terry Rozier ($24.9 million), among others.

“It’s just try to impact winning in any way I can, whatever aspect of the game, just try to make plays, just try to help us get a win every single night,” Strus said during this latest trip to South Florida.

Now finding his way with an emerging team, just as was the case in his three Heat seasons, which went from first-round ouster to Eastern Conference finals to NBA Finals.

“We’ve matured a lot,” Strus said of the Cavaliers, who were eliminated in the first round in Strus’ first season and second round in his second. “And that comes with the more you get around guys, the more you play together, the more experience you have.”

Anderson ailing

Already without Rozier because of the ankle sprain sustained during an optional team practice a week ago, the Heat were without veteran forward Kyle Anderson at Monday morning’s shootaround at Kaseya Center due to an illness.

Anderson played six minutes in the series opener against the Cavaliers before being held out the next three games.

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