Reaching an agreement to trade Dennis Schröder to Charlotte last week hasn’t changed the Cavaliers‘ plans to find a new home for Max Strus, Marc Stein of The Stein Line reports (subscription required). League sources tell Stein that Cleveland is still searching for a taker for Strus, who has a $16.7MM expiring contract for 2026/27.

The Cavs saved roughly $6.8MM in the Schröder deal by swapping his $14.8MM salary for Tre Mann‘s $8MM figure. But Stein hears that Cleveland is seeking even more financial flexibility to re-sign James Harden and bolster its free agency pursuit of either Nuggets wing Peyton Watson or Hawks forward Jonathan Kuminga.

Strus is a career 37% three-point shooter who should appeal to teams looking for outside shooting help. He only appeared in 12 games last season while recovering from foot surgery, but was able to handle a rotation role in the playoffs, averaging 9.6 points and 4.8 rebounds in 26.7 minutes per night while playing in all 18 games.

A source familiar with the process tells Stein that Harden’s new multiyear deal should be finalized “soon-ish.” Harden has been a free agent since declining his $42.3MM player option in late June, but he was always expected to remain in Cleveland.

Stein shares more inside information from around the NBA:

• There hasn’t been much progress on Bennedict Mathurin‘s contract standoff with the Clippers, according to Stein, whose sources say the restricted free agent’s representatives are still talking to the Pelicans, Bulls and Bucks. A source briefed on the process tells Stein that the Clippers still have interest in bringing back Mathurin, even after re-signing Bradley Beal last week. L.A. will have 15 players on fully or partially guaranteed standard contracts if the Kawhi Leonard trade goes through, along with Cam Christie on a non-guaranteed deal, so it could be challenging to make room for Mathurin.
• Stein hears that Luka Doncic spoke with new Lakers owners Bob Iger and Joshua Kushner after their purchase of the team was announced last week, and he plans to meet with them when the opportunity arises. Doncic, who’s spending the summer in Slovenia with his daughters, will welcome 16 of his teammates to Ljubljana on Thursday. The only current Laker who’s unable to make the trip is Cameron Carr, who is required to attend an NBA rookie orientation that’s being held at the same time.
• Stein states that new Mavericks president Masai Ujiri has talked with Klay Thompson about his future in Dallas. The Heat are among several potential suitors hoping for a buyout, but the Mavs have been stating since mid-June that their preference is to trade Thompson and get something in return for his $17.5MM expiring contract. Stein spoke to two sources briefed on the process, who said it’s still not clear how the situation will be resolved. Dallas has 16 players on standard contracts and will have to part with at least one of them before the season begins.