Max Strus' season didn't end as he would have hoped. After establishing himself as a key cog in the Miami Heat throughout the course of the season, he failed to contribute in his team's NBA Finals loss to the Denver Nuggets at the level of which he has shown he is capable.

But like a number of the Heat's fleet of undrafted players, he's proven himself worthy of a lot more than his recently concluded contract which saw him earn just under $3.5 million over two years. Entering free agency, he'll be looking for a lot more than that – with some reports suggesting he could be looking at in excess of $20 million over three years – and there will be a number of teams willing to give it to him. With that in mind, these are the three best destinations for Max Strus in 2023 NBA free agency.

1. Miami Heat

The Heat will have some decisions to make this offseason, with a number of players entering NBA free agency. They won't likely keep everyone, particularly if they want to find another high-quality player to complement their Butler-Adebayo duo, but Strus is one who it's easy to see them trying hard to hang on to.

He has become an increasingly important part of their team over the past couple of years, jumping up to a career-high 28.4 minutes per game this season and starting in every single game in the playoffs. Though his three-point shooting was down from 41.0% last season to 35.0% this season, his ability to space the floor for a team which isn't renowned for its long-range shooting is pivotal, while he's also shown improvement as a decision-maker and an ability to make the right pass when run off the arc.

Strus overtook Duncan Robinson as their go-to floor spacer this year, and though Robinson came alive during the playoffs, his contract means Strus will be the more affordable and better value option for the Heat if they were to hang onto just one of them.

2. Los Angeles Lakers

After a rollercoaster of a season, the Lakers' team which made it through to the Western Conference Finals ended up being pretty damn good. Sure, they got swept by the Nuggets, but they were in all four of those games and as we've all far too slowly come to realize, the Nuggets are an excellent basketball side. But no team is perfect, and like all 30 of them in the NBA, the Lakers will be looking to take this team to the next level in season 2023-24.

One of the most obvious areas which they will be looking to improve is their three-point shooting. As well as they played for much of the playoffs, they shot just 33.5% from beyond the arc in the postseason – not dissimilar to what they managed during the regular season. Going down the list of guys who played the most minutes in the playoffs; LeBron's shot was off all season and particularly so in the playoffs, Davis has given up on shooting from beyond the arc, Schroder is a low 30s% shooter, and Vanderbilt can't shoot. Their only players who are consistently dangerous from long range are Austin Reaves and D'Angelo Russell – the latter of whom may very well not be there next year.

Regardless of what happens with Russell, the Lakers need more floor spacing, and Max Strus can give them exactly that. If Russell does go, that will only be more true, and they will have a fair bit more cap space to fit Strus in too. Add to that the fact that Strus has accumulated plenty of playoff experience over the past couple of years, and he could be a valuable addition for a team with championship aspirations.

3. Memphis Grizzlies

For all of their posturing throughout the course of the last season, the Grizzlies proved that they're not quite where they want to be yet. With Ja Morant set to spend an extended period on the sideline next season that's probably not going to change at least in the initial stages of 2023-24, but this is still a talented young core with the potential to go a long way. From a cap space perspective things are a little up in the air and their offseason moves will be contingent on how much they are willing to spend, but they have cleared up some space with Dillon Brooks set to look for a new home.

Like the Lakers, the Grizzlies lack shooting, and they also lack players with deep postseason experience, having been knocked out in the first or second round of the playoffs in each of the past three years. Max Strus can help them out in both of those departments.

With Ja Morant and Desmond Bane in the backcourt the Grizzlies are pretty set for the future at the guard positions, but the most notable flaw in Morant's game – at least on the court – is his outside shooting, and Bane is one of his only teammates capable of picking up the slack with any sort of regularity. Luke Kennard was a helpful addition in this regard, but those two aside there aren't a whole lot of legitimate threats. Strus could play alongside Bane and Morant in a small but dynamic lineup, or alternatively provide a dangerous scoring threat off the bench.

The Grizzlies are also a very young team, as they demonstrated this year, and in the eyes of pretty much everyone in the NBA world got a little bit too big for their boots. Strus has been in a culture widely regarded as the most disciplined in the league for three seasons, and has been part of a team less talented than the Grizzlies which made it to the NBA Finals. If even an iota of that rubbed off on Memphis, it would be of significant benefit.

Though Max Strus wasn't at his best in the NBA Finals, he's had two solid years in a row and is set to be paid in the offseason as a result. With his shooting ability and postseason experience, he'll be worth what he's set to be paid for many teams, and the Heat, Lakers and Grizzlies might be leading the pack.