Kevin Love may be a long way past his prime, but if Max Strus' recent comments are anything to go by, the 35-year-old is still having a significant impact on his teammates.

Speaking to the media after practice at the Cleveland Clinic Courts on Wednesday, Strus talked about his love for his former teammate. “I miss Kevin,” he said. “For the short time we had together, he was one of my favorite, if not my favorite teammate of all time. I miss him dearly and I wish him the best of luck out there.”

It didn't take long for Love to make that mark on Strus; he signed with the Heat after a buy out from the Cavs midway through last season, playing just 21 games in the regular season before suiting up for 20 more in the playoffs. Those 41 games were all he managed for a Heat team with Strus on it, with the German subsequently traded to the Cavs – from where Love had come just months earlier – during the 2023 off-season.

Max Strus will enter the 2023-24 season, his first in Cleveland, having improved in virtually every major statistical category for each of his three NBA seasons of any substance, last year averaging a career-high 11.5 points while posing a persistent threat from outside – even if his shooting numbers were one of the only stat categories in which he regressed last season.

Love, meanwhile, remains on a Heat side looking to repeat their heroics from last season which saw them scratch their way through to the NBA Finals as the number eight seed. The 35-year-old's numbers are well down on what they were in his prime, but as Strus' comments suggest, he doesn't necessarily need to be putting up big numbers to have an impact on the players around him.